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The  Household  of  a 
Tudor  Nobleman 


BY 

PAUL  V.  B.  JONES 

Associate  in  History  in  the 
University  of  Illinois 


' '  God  'a  gift  was  that  man  should  conceive  of  truth 
And  yearn  to  gain  it,  catching  at  mistake, 
As  midway  help  till  he  reach  fact  indeed." 

ROBERT  BROWNING  —  A  Death  in  the  Desert, 

"Capital  truths  are  to  be  narrowly  eyed;  collateral  lapses  and  circum- 
stantial deliveries  not  to  be  too  strictly  sifted.  And  if  the  substantial 
subject  be  well  forged  out,  we  need  not  examine  the  sparks  which  irregu- 
larly fly  from  it." 

SIR  THOMAS  BROWNE  —  Christian  Morals. 


To  my  Mother 

in  her  seventy-third  year 

I  inscribe  this  Uttle  work 

with  love  and  reverence 


t 


PREFACE\ 

In  this  study  I  have  sought  to  describe  the  organization  and 
management  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  institutions  of  Tudor 
England;  the  noblemen's  households  indeed,  were  central  insti- 
tutions in  the  life  of  that  age,  from  whatever  aspect  —  social, 
intellectual,  economic,  or  other  —  it  be  viewed.  The  materials 
used,  chiefly  household  accounts  and  regulations,  have  been  those 
available  in  print;  the  titles  are  relatively  few,  but  the  content 
of  most  of  the  items  is  exceedingly  rich  ;  could  they  be  thorough- 
ly exploited,  in  fact,  a  very  complete  picture  of  English  manners 
and  customs,  during  that  most  fascinating  period,  could  be 
drawn  from  them,  since  the  Stewards  or  other  responsible  Offi- 
cers set  down  in  their  books  every  expenditure,  whether  it  were 
a  progress  with  its  lavish,  costly  outlay,  or  the  purchase  of  a 
pipe  for  the  household  Fool.  These  documents  overlap  the 
Tudor  period  chronologically,  Lord  John  Howard's  Accounts 
beginning  in  1462,  while  those  of  Lord  William  Howard  of 
Naworth  end  with  the  year  1640;  so  little  fundamental  change 
was  there,  though,  during  the  interval,  in  the  methods  of  house- 
hold management  —  tradition  and  dearly  loved  precedent  ever 
working  for  uniformity  —  that  the  construction  of  a  composite 
from  them  has  been,  I  believe,  a  safe  venture. 

I  began  this  study  as  a  graduate  student,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
possible  to  thank  here  all  tho.se  to  whom  I  am  deeply  indebted  for 
advice  and  other  help.  Especially,  however,  am  I  bounden  to  Pro- 
fessors Earle  W.  Dow,  of  Michigan,  and  Edward  P.  Cheyney,  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  scholarly  direction  and  criticism.  From  their 
instruction,  as  good  old  Jamie  Melville  said  of  the  teaching  of  his 
beloved  Knox,  "I  took  away  sic  things  as  I  could  comprehend;" 
had  my  limitations  been  fewer,  this  book  were  the  better  !  Pro- 
fessor Cheyney  allowed  me  to  select  this  subject  for  study  from 
his  list  of  proposed  monographs  in  the  period  he  has  so  ably 
made  his  own,  and  he  generously  advised  me  during  my  investi- 
gations and  writing.  Also  I  am  grateful  to  Professor  Charles 
H.  Cooley,  of  Michigan,  who  kindly  read  a  first  draft  of  parts  of 
this  work,  suggesting  many  corrections  and  changes  which  were 
very  useful  to  me.  My  sister,  Mrs.  Edwin  P.  Nutting,  read  the 
entire  manuscript,  improving  it  materially,  and  my  wife  has 
helped  me  through  the  tedious  proof-reading  and  indexing,  for 


which  assistance  I  am  pleased  here  to  thank  them  both.  And 
finally  I  express  now  my  sincere  appreciation  of  the  courteous, 
helpful  service  of  the  Librarians  of  the  Universities  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Michigan,  of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  of  the  New  York  Public  Library,  which  I  have  so 
freely  enjoyed  —  also  of  the  careful  cooperation  of  those  of  The 
Torch  Press  who  have  handled  this  book  for  me. 

PAUL  V.  B.  JONES 
University  of  Illinois 
January,  1918 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     The  Personnel  of  the  Household 9-23 

II     The  Family  and  the  Servants 23-63 

III  The  Food  of  the  Nobility 64-76 

IV  Supply  Purveyance  in  the  Hands  of  Noblemen 77-100 

V     Supply  Purveyance  in  the  Hands  of  Servants 100-134 

VI     Financial  Management  in  the  Household 135-147 

VII     Great  Chamber  and  Hall  Service  in  the  Household 148-176 

VIII     Worship  and  Charity  in  the  Household 177-201 

IX    Miscellaneous  Service  in  the  Household 202-221 

X     Some  Diversions  in  the  Household 222-238 

Appendix    A 239-241 

Appendix    B 242 

Appendix    C 243-245 

Appendix    D 246 

Bibliography   247-251 

Index    .  .  252-257 


CHAPTER  I 


So  noble  a  man,  so  valiaunt  lord  and  knyght, 
Fulfilled  with  honor,  as  all  the  world  doth  ken; 

At  his  commaundement  which  had  both  day  and  nyght 
Knyghtes  and  Squyers,  at  euery  season  when 
He  ealde  vpon  them,  as  meniall  houshold  men ;    .    .       . 1 

JOHN  SKELTON. 

"The  English  are  serious  like  the  Germans;  lovers  of  show, 
liking  to  be  followed  wherever  they  go  by  whole  troops  of  ser- 
vants, who  wear  their  master's  arms  in  silver  fastened  to  their 
left  arms ;  .  .  . " 2  Thus  wrote  Paul  Hentzner,  a  Branden- 
burg jurist,  who  was  traveling  in  England  in  1598.  As  a  for- 
eigner, he  was  much  impressed  by  the  ostentatious  display  of 
part  of  the  household  equipment  of  an  English  nobleman.  How 
he  would  have  been  struck  by  the  survey  of  a  complete  estab- 
lishment in  operation!  Unfortunately,  however,  his  lively  ob- 
servations on  the  manners  of  the  English  are  brief  indeed  and 
we  must  draw  our  own  picture  of  that  remarkable  institution. 

The  household  of  an  English  nobleman  in  the  Tudor  period 
was  an  exceedingly  large  and  complicated  organization.  The 
term  "household,"  as  then  used,  included  as  well  the  master's 
family  as  his  servants.  This  gave  to  the  average  menage  a 
considerable  membership,  and  made  of  the  large  households 
veritable  communities  of  men. 

A  learned  man  who  well  knew  the  age  of  the  great  Queen, 
writing  early  in  the  17th  century,  mentions  an  earl  who  "kept 
ordinarily  in  his  house  two  hundred  persons  .  .  ."  8  Extant 
household  books  kept  by  different  great  noblenufli  of  the  time 
under  consideration  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this  affirmation. 

1  Skelton,  Lament  on  the  Doulourous  Dethe  of  the  Erie  of  Northumber- 
land, Dyee  edition,  1. 

2  Paul  Hentzner 's  Travels  in  England,  London,  1797,  63. 
s  Brathwait,  Household  of  an  Earle,  11. 

9 


10  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [284 

In  1469,  two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  people  made  up  the 
domestic  establishment  of  George,  Duke  of  Clarence.4  This  was 
above  the  average  in  size,  while  the  much  less  pretentious  house- 
hold of  John  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  was  almost  as  far  below 
the  mean.  The  latter  nobleman  paid  wages  to  sixty-five  ser- 
vants in  his  employ  on  October  9,  1483,  and  while  there  were 
certainly  a  few  other  people  in  this  establishment,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  say  how  many.5 

At  Michaelmas  quarter  (September  29th)  in  the  third  year 
of  King  Henry  the  8th,  (1512)  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  men, 
women,  and  children,  all  told,  were  listed  on  the  check-roll  of 
Henry  Algernon  Percy,  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland 6  —  most 
of  these  in  office  directly  for  the  maintenance  of  his  stately  house. 
Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  in  1542,  paid  wages  to  ninety-seven  servants, 
while  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  his  son,  remunerated  ninety-one  for 
services  done  in  the  28th  year  of  Henry  the  8th ; 7  but  the  real 
number  in  the  latter 's  employ,  possibly  then,  and  certainly  in 
1539,  was  nearer  one  hundred  and  thirty-five.8  About  the  mid- 
dle of  the  16th  century,  Richard  Bertie  and  his  Countess  were 
hiring  some  eighty  servants,  besides  gardeners,  dairy-maids  and 
laborers,  which  servitors,  if  duly  enumerated,  might  easily  make 
the  number  of  people  ordinarily  living  at  Grimsthorpe  House 
more  than  one  hundred.9 

There  were  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  hirelings  in  service  for 
Henry,  Earl  of  "Worcester,  who  lived  from  1577-1646.  His  was 
an  establishment  similar  to  the  dignified  household  maintained 
by  the  great  Earls  of  Derby,  Edward,  and  Henry,  after  him. 
In  May  of  1587  when  house  was  " set  up"  at  Lathom,  one  of  the 
family  manors  in  Lancashire,  one  hundred  and  eighteen  people 
were  living  right  with  the  Earl  Henry  in  ' '  daily  attendance ; "  10 

4  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  105. 

s  Howard  Household  Books,  468-470.  The  doubt  as  to  the  exact  number 
of  servants  in  this  establishment  arises  from  the  fact  that,  while  there  are 
numerous  mentions  of  servants  in  these  household  books,  they  do  not  contain 
any  official  lists  as  do  most  of  the  other  similar  accounts. 

e  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  1827  ed.,  45. 

7  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Kutland,  4,  260-261. 

8  Hid.,  284  sq. ;  ibid.,  296  sq. 

9  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  459-460. 

10  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  23-37. 


285]  THE  PERSONNEL  OF   THE   HOUSEHOLD  11 

while  in  1590  his  servants  alone  numbered  one  hundred  and 
forty  through  additional  help  —  footmen,  laundresses  and  oth- 
ers, which  were  required  in  several  of  the  departments.11 

Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle  in  Cumberland, 
never,  at  least  from  1612  until  his  death  in  1640,  regularly  em- 
ployed so  many  as  eighty  servants.  In  1633  the  names  of  sev- 
enty-eight were  on  his  pay  roll,12  but  the  number  varies  between 
1612-1640  inclusive,  from  forty-five  in  the  former  year,13  to 
seventy-eight  in  1633.14  This  lesser  state  was  probably  due  to 
Howard's  taste  and  needs,  or  to  his  status  among  the  nobility, 
rather  than  to  any  great  change  in  the  domestic  arrangements  of 
this  entire  class  of  English  society.  We  have  already  noted  the 
comparatively  small  establishment  of  John  Howard,  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  of  a  much  earlier  date,  as  well  as  the  great  household 
of  Lord  William  Howard's  contemporary,  Henry  Earl  of  Wor- 
cester.15 

Every  household,  as  observed,  consisted  of  two  groups  of  peo- 
ple. Comprising  the  first  were  the  noble  lord  and  his  own  family, 
often  enough  with  various  kin,  close  relatives,  who  also  lived  and 
had  their  being  beneath  his  roof.  The  second  group  was  a  large 
body  of  household  servants  of  various  standings  and  degrees, 
from  the  three  or  four  great  officials  always  at  the  head  of  the 
group,  together  usually  with  young  noblemen,  some  of  them 
wards,  trying  their  prentice  hand  at  the  life,  later  perhaps  to  be 
their  own,  and  the  several  ecclesiastics  always  in  a  household, 
down  through  the  ranks  of  yeomen  and  grooms,  chamber  and 
dairy  maids  to  the  bands  of  youngsters  set  to  work  in  the  kitchen 
or  the  brew  house,  where  their  little  abilities  were  useful. 

The  distinction,  however,  between  family  and  servants,  was  in 
some  households  made  somewhat  obscure,  at  least  so  far  as  the 
higher  servitors  were  concerned,  by  the  frequent  practice  of 
filling  the  more  important  offices  with  members  of  the  family. 

The  princely  estate  of  the  great  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland, 

11  Ibid.,  84-88. 

12  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  501. 
is/bid.,  490-491. 

i*  Ibid.,  500-501. 

is  An  average  household  had  a  membership  of  ab«ut  one  hundred  and 
thirty  souls,  if  we  may  found  an  average  on  these  eleven  representative 
houses  flourishing  at  different  times  in  the  Tudor  period. 


12  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A    TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [286 

already  mentioned,  well  famed  in  its  day  for  its  majesty,  was 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  elaborate  of  all  the  households  of 
which  detailed  record  remains.  In  the  year  1512  there  were 
"daily  abiding  in  the  Earl's  house,"  maintained  and  maintain- 
ing, the  following  interesting  people:  Of  the  family,  the  earl, 
with  his  wife,  the  Lady  Catherine;  their  three  sons  —  Henry, 
Lord  Percy,  the  heir  and  subsequently  6th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land; the  second  son,  Thomas,  and  the  third,  Ingelram,  Percy, 
both,  of  course  to  become  knights.  There  was  at  this  time  only 
one  daughter  in  the  family  —  the  little  Lady  Margaret.  All 
these  children  were  youngsters,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  well 
equipped  nursery.  In  addition,  the  earl's  brothers  are  men- 
tioned as  included,  at  least  at  times,  in  the  household.  Of  these 
there  were  three  —  Sir  "William,  knight ;  Allan,  clerk,  and  Jose- 
line  Percy.  Of  domestics,  whose  chief  if  not  only  duty  was  at- 
tendance upon  these  of  the  family,  there  were  several  —  a  yeo- 
man and  a  groom  for  my  young  lord  and  his  brothers;  two 
"rockers"  and  a  child  to  attend  in  the  nursery;  three  gentle- 
women and  two  chamberers  for  Lady  Catherine,  and  three  ser- 
vants for  each  of  the  earl's  brothers.16 

At  the  head  of  the  household  were  four  chief  officers  the 
Chamberlain,  Steward,  Treasurer,  and  Comptroller.  Not  to  de- 
fine here  the  positions  of  these  men,  it  will  suffice  to  say  that  in 
concert  or  singly  they  were  in  charge  of  the  other  servants  and 
much  of  the  household  management.  Each  of  these  officers  had 
certain  men  and  boys  detailed  especially  to  serve  him;  thus  the 
Chamberlain 's  group,  with  that  dignitary  himself,  counted  seven, 
including  his  chaplain,  clerk,  two  yeomen,  ' '  a  child  of  his  cham- 
ber," and  his  horsekeeper.  The  Steward  had  likewise  his  clerk, 
child  and  horsekeeper;  the  Treasurer,  a  clerk  and  horsekeeper, 
and  the  Comptroller  "charged"  was  also  allowed  but  the  two, 
viz.,  a  clerk  and  a  horsekeeper. 

IB  This  entry  is  a  bit  obscure;  it  reads:  "My  Lordes  Brether  every  of 
theym  with  theire  Servaunts  iiij  as  to  say  if  thei  be  Preists  his  Chapelyn 
his  Cliilde  and  his  Horskepar  And  if  he  be  other  ways  his  Clerk  his  Childe 
of  his  Chambre  and  his  Harskepar."  —  Northumberland  Household  Bool", 
ed.  1827,  43.  Is  the  meaning,  that  the  service  differed  according  to  the 
character  of  the  first  servant,  or,  as  seems  more  likely,  if  one  of  the  brothers 
should  be  a  priest,  then  his  attendants  were  chosen  accordingly?  According 
to  Bishop  Percy,  the  Allan  Percy  mentioned  above  was  Warden  of  Trinity 
College  at  Arundel  in  Sussex.  Op.  tit.,  xxiv. 


287]  THE  PERSONNEL  OF   THE  HOUSEHOLD  13 

Next  in  rank  were  the  Dean  of  .the  Chapel,  and  his  servant ; 
the  Surveyor17  and  his;  two  members  of  my  lord's  council,18 
each  of  whom  had  his  servant,  and  the  Secretary,  who  was  also 
allowed  his  man.  There  were  six  Chaplains:  an  Almoner  who 
had  a  servant  if  he  was  a  ' '  maker  of  interludes, ' '  the  servant  to 
write  the  parts;  if  the  Almoner  were  not  the  happy  possessor 
of  that  joyous  forte  then  he  stood  alone ;  a  Master  of  Grammar, 
a  riding  Chaplain  for  the  Earl  Percy,  a  Sub-dean,  a  ' '  Gospeller, ' ' 
that  is,  a  priest  who  read  the  Gospel,  and  a  Lady  Mass  Priest. 

Two  Gentlemen  Ushers  were  allowed  a  servant,  while  especially 
for  the  noble  Earl  Percy,  were  two  Carvers,  two  Sewers  (servers 
of  food),  and  two  Cup-bearers,  each  pair  of  which  had  its  man, 
unless  these  young  men  were  in  the  household  "at  their  friends 
{finding,"  or  support,  under  which  condition  each  was  to  have 
his  own  servant  —  an  interesting  note  which  gives  us  a  bit  of  the 
procedure  connected  with  the  very  prevalent  practice  of  placing 
young  noblemen  or  gentlemen 's  sons  in  great  houses  for  a  part  of 
their  early  training.  For  the  "board's  end"19  were  two  Gen- 
tlemen Waiters  with  their  one  servant.  Of  henchmen,  and 
"young  gentlemen"  at  their  friend's  finding,20  there  were  five  — 
three  of  the  former  and  two  of  the  latter.  There  was  one  ' '  Offi- 
cer of  Arms"  who  might  be  either  a  Herald,  or  a  herald's  at- 
tendant —  a  Pursuivant,21  and  two  Yeomen  Ushers  of  the  Cham- 
ber. 

The  Chapel  service  was  highly  estimated,  for  no  fewer  than 
fifteen  people  were  required  to  conduct  it.  Nine  of  these  were 
men  styled  ' '  Gentlemen  of  the  Chapel, ' '  being  the  Choir  Master, 
two  tenors,  four  "counter-tenors,"  the  "Pistoler,"  that  is,  one 
whose  duty  was  the  reading  of  the  Epistle,  and  "one  for  the 
organs ; ' '  the  other  six  were  children  —  trebles  and  means. 

Two  men  marshalled  the  Hall  and  had  the  customary  servant 

"  An  officer  whose  duties  had  to  do  with  the  estates  of  Earl  Percy. 

18  A  body  of  men  whose  advice  and  assistance  were  required  in  running 
the  household,  attending  to  petitioners,  etc. 

i»  That  is,  the  end  of  the  dining-table  in  the  Great  Chamber,  where  the 
earl  and  his  family  sat  at  meals. 

20  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  any  confusion  between  these  young  men 
"at  their  friends  finding"  and  the  carvers,  cup-bearers,  etc.,   spoken  of 
above.     These  latter  might,  or  might  not,  be  supported  in  the  household  by 
their  friends. 

21  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  35. 


14  THE   HOUSEHOLD    OF    A    TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [288 

between  them.  There  were  also  a  Yeoman  Usher  of  the  Hall,  six 
Yeomen  of  the  Chamber,  and  five  Yeomen  Waiters,  while  the 
so-called  "yeoman  officers"  of  the  household  were  eleven;  one 
of  the  Robes,  one  of  the  Horse,  one  of  the  Vestry,  one  of  the 
"Ewery" —  the  place  where  the  ewers,  or  hand  basins  and  cer- 
tain other  utensils  were  kept,  a  yeoman  officer  of  the  pantry,  one 
of  the  cellar,  one  of  the  buttery,  a  yeoman  cook  ' '  for  the  mouth, ' ' 
one  each  for  the  bake  and  brew  house,  and  a  yeoman  porter. 

There  were  twenty  grooms  and  groom  officers.  Five  were 
called  Grooms  of  the  Chamber,  of  which  three  were  delegated 
"to  ride  with  my  Lord,"  while  of  the  other  two  it  was  decreed 
that  one  was  "to  bide  at  home,"  while  his  companion  was  espe- 
cially for  the  service  of  Lady  Catherine.  Three  were  Grooms 
of  the  Wardrobe  who  devoted  their  time  respectively  to  the 
"robes,"  the  beds,  and  to  the  gowns  of  Lady  Percy.  Further, 
there  was  a  groom  for  each  of  the  following  posts:  the  ewery, 
pantry,  cellar,  and  the  buttery;  two  for  the  kitchen,  of  which 
one  was  "for  the  mouth,"  and  the  other  for  the  larder,  and 
finally  —  there  were  a  Groom,  of  the  Hall,  a  Groom  Porter,  a 
Groom  of  the  Stirrup,  a  Groom  of  the  Palfreys,  a  Groom  Sump- 
terman,  a  Groom  of  the  ' '  Chariot. ' ' 

Ten  youngsters  besides  the  Children  of  the  Chapel,  were  en- 
rolled for  duty,  one  in  each  of  these  places  —  the  Wardrobe, 
Kitchen,  Scullery,  Stable,  "Chariot,"  Bakehouse,  "Butchery," 
Catory,  Armory,  and  finally  —  one  to  assist  the  Arras-mender.22 

A  small  corps  of  minstrels  were  regularly  paid  to  render  their 
pleasing  services,  the  members  of  which  were  performers  upon 
the  tabour,  the  lute,  and  the  rebeck  —  a  sort  of  three  string 
fiddle ; 23  while  a  seemingly  miscellaneous  group  included  the 
Footman,  two  Falconers,  a  Painter,  Joiner,  Huntsman,  and  the 
Under  Almoner  of  the  Hall,  whose  specified  duty  was  to  serve 
the  Grooms  of  the  Chamber  with  wood;  but  of  all  functions, 
more  later. 

The  little  army  of  ten  clerks  must  have  kept  the  whole  estab- 
lishment duly  footed  up  and  balanced !  They  were  sub-divided 
among  the  following  departments  —  Kitchen,  Signet,24  Foreign 

22  As  hia  title  implies,   a  man   to  keep  the  arras  or  wall-hangings  in 
repair. 

23  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  415. 

2*  Pertaining  to  all  work  like  letter-writing,  which  had  to  receive  the 
earl 's  seal.  Vide  ibid.,  328. 


289]  THE  PERSONNEL  OP   THE   HOUSEHOLD  15 

Expenses,25  Brevements,26  the  Clerk  "Avenar,"27  " Works,"28 
Clerk  of  the  ' '  "Wearing  Book, ' ' 29  and  one,  an  assistant ' '  to  write 
under  the  clerks  of  the  Foreign  Expenses. ' '  The  solitary  miller 
brings  up  the  rear! 

Turning  now  to  a  somewhat  later  period,  we  note  substantially 
the  same  impressive  personnel  assembled  for  the  proper  main- 
tenance of  his  Grace  Henry,  the  Earl  of  Derby.  All,  of  the  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  people,  who,  in  May  of  1587,  were  en- 
rolled in  this  nobleman 's  household,  belonged,  with  the  exception 
of  five,  to  the  serving  group.  Those  five  were  the  Earl  Henry's 
brother,  Sir  Edward  Stanley,  and  four  servants  in  his  employ. 

At  the  head  of  the  establishment  stood  the  customary  high 
officials  —  Mr.  Steward,  Mr.  Comptroller,  and  Mr.  Receiver-Gen- 
eral,30 each  having  three  servants  of  his  own.  The  earl  had  also 
an  Auditor  and  a  private  Secretary,  though  these  places  are  not 
mentioned  in  his  check-roll.31  Of  Gentlemen  Waiters,  there  were 
eight,  including  Mr.  Bushey,  the  earl 's  page.  Two  Clerks  of  the 
kitchen,  Wm.  Aspinowle  and  Mychell  Doughtie  conducted  the 
important  office  in  their  charge.  There  was  but  one  Chaplain, 
Sir  Gilbert  Towneley  —  a  remarkable  change  wrought  by  the 
Reformation,  from  the  kind  of  religious  administration  main- 
tained in  the  Northumberland  household. 

The  nineteen  yeomen  officers,  six  of  whom  were  alternatives, 
had  duties  in  the  following  stations:  the  Chamber,  where  were 
two  Yeomen  Ushers:  the  cellar,  in  which  either  Richard  Makin, 
or  Jhon  Lawton  served :  the  Hall,  choice  lying  between  the  ser- 
vices of  ffransis  (sic)  Hamlet  or  Edward  Parker:  Porters,  either 
Anthony  Wells  or  Edward  Spenser:  Butlers,  either  Edward 
Ellis  or  Jhon  Mordant :  the  pantries,  where  either  William  Dod- 
dile  or  Thomas  Wilson  might  be  stationed :  the  ewery  where  was 
to  be  found  either  William  Marson,  or  Jhon  Barber :  the  ' '  ward- 
robe of  beds,"  regularly  requiring  the  time  of  three  men,  the 

25  Probably  expenses  incurred  outside  of  the  household  expenses,  strictly 
considered.     Vide  ibid.,  398-400. 

26  Brevements  were  accounts  of  food,  etc.,  dispensed. 

27  A  clerk  in  charge  of  oats  and  other  horse  feed. 

28  Improvements,  repairs,  etc. 

29  A  book  in  which  account  of  linen,  etc.,  in  use  was  kept 
so  I.e.,  of  rents,  fees,  etc. 

si  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  31,  35,  etc.,  and  Introduction  of  the  same,  vi 
and  note. 


16  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [290 

two  Parkers,  Henry,  junior  and  senior,  and  Edward  Mason: 
while  lastly,  two  of  these  yeomen  officers  —  Richard  and  William 
Mollynewx,  were  arras  men. 

Six  men,  Richard  Borrowes,  Edward  Halsall,  "William  Edling, 
Gilbert  Holme,  Edward  Smythe,  and  Edward  Stockeley,  exer- 
cised the  office  of  Grooms  of  the  Chamber  to  the  Earl  Henry, 
while  two  more,  Thomas  Plombe  and  Thomas  ffletcher  (sic)  were 
paid  as  sub-grooms.  The  twelve  Yeomen  Waiters,  Fetter  Wroe, 
Thomas  ffoster,  Robert  Doughtie,  Thomas  Hayworth,  Geordge 
Hayworth,  Cvttberde  Gerrarde,  Richard  Lockevell,  Robert 
Smythe,  Fetter  Hille,  Thomas  Simcock,  Richard  Travers,  and 
Jhon  Siddall,  had  their  ranks  further  recruited  in  hunting  sea- 
son by  one,  Thomas  Bickerstath. 

Edward  Derby,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  Earl  Henry, 
maintained  a  company  of  minstrels  in  his  household,32  but  at 
this  time  the  only  musicians  were  the  two  trumpeters,  Jhon 
King  and  Geordge  Campion. 

The  great  kitchen  service  required  the  labor  of  eleven  men,  in- 
cluding an  alternative,  and  two  of  the  number,  Jhon  Blackeladge 
and  Henry  Taillior  were  appointed  especially  for  work  in  the 
scullery.  One  William  Gawen  held  the  very  careful  post  of 
Caterer,  while  there  were  two  slaughtermen,  two  bakers,  two 
brewers,  a  malt-maker,  a  candle-man,  three  footmen,  two  Al- 
moners, two  carpenters,  a  gardener,  a  "roughcaster"  or  plasterer, 
two  "hop-men,"  and  two  laundresses  —  Margaret  Scaresbrike 
and  Ellen  Gaskell,  who  appear  to  have  been  the  only  female 
servants  in  the  entire  establishment. 

There  were  thirteen  men  in  the  barn-yard  brigade  —  William 
Wainewright,  Yeoman  of  the  Horses,  Gilbert  Parstcote,  coachman, 
Ewan  Wainewright,  Hugh  Bury,  "yeoman  of  my  Lord's  stoerop- 
pes,"  Jhon  Pollet,  Jhon  Vergus,  yeoman  of  the  ' '  waineryes, " 
Hugh  Leylonde,  Jhon  Mollyneux,  Ewan  Simcote,  Hugh  Cropper, 
Henry  Standishe,  Henry  Otie,  and  George  Mosscroppe.  With 
this  humble  crew,  and  listed  in  the  most  lowly  place  in  the  whole 
roll,  was  one  who  probably  little  cared  ' '  Henry  ye  ffoolle. ' ' 33 

The  only  important  difference  between  a  small  household,  like 
that  of  John  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  the  very  large  estab- 

32  Whittaker  'a  Hist,  of  Craven,  233.     Cited  by  Ed.  Raines  in  his  intro- 
duction to  the  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  vi. 
as  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  23-27. 


291]  THE  PERSONNEL  OP   THE  HOUSEHOLD  17 

lishments,  like  the  two  whose  memberships  have  just  been  given, 
lay  largely  in  the  number  of  servants  employed,  rather  than  in 
the  general  character  and  purpose  of  the  help. 

There  were  few  members  in  the  family  of  Lord  John  Howard 
of  Stoke  in  Suffolk,  in  1481;  in  fact,  besides  the  lord  and  his 
lady  were  only  their  young  daughter  and  her  youthful  husband, 
Lady  and  Lord  Berners.  Nor  did  Howard,  as  we  have  noted 
earlier  employ  the  small  army  of  household  servants  so  many  of 
the  nobility  hired.  While  it  is  quite  impossible  to  tell  complete- 
ly what  were  the  official  positions  of  his  servitors,  withal,  the 
list  of  known  vocations  in  his  household  was  very  much  like  those 
of  the  larger  houses. 

Lord  John  had  his  Steward,  a  man  named  Bliant 34  who  faith- 
fully attended  to  the  manifold  duties  of  his  weighty  office  during 
1482  and  1483,  being  made  Comptroller  sometime  late  in  the  latter 
year,35  when  another  Steward  was  at  once  appointed.36  In  1483 
the  Receiver  was  one  Ovy,37  while  the  Auditor  was  John 
Knight ; 38  that  same  office  was  filled  for  the  two  previous  years, 
however,  by  a  man  with  the  euphonious  appellation  of  Watkyn 
Fulbone.39  "Wbdde,  or  "Wood  was  the  Treasurer,40  while  a  Sec- 
retary, an  official  unmentioned  before  the  elevation  of  the  Lord 
John  to  his  dukedom  is  in  service  subsequently.41  A  priest,  Sir 
William  Davys,  commonly  addressed  as  "Sir  William,"  was 
given  wages  regularly;  his  employment  was  varied,  however, 
and  he  was  certainly  not  the  sole  administrator  to  the  spiritual 
needs  of  the  Howard  household.  Another  priest,  Sir  Pers  or 
Perys  Aleghe,  of  the  parish  of  "Polsted,"  received  8.s  for  his 
first  Mass  before  Howard  and  his  Lady,  and  Lord  and  Lady 
Berners,  which  he  sang  on  Sunday  the  26th  day  of  May,  in  the 
22nd  year  of  Edward  the  4th.42  So  much  for  the  principal  offi- 
cials as  they  were  usually  ranked. 

Among  the  lesser  servitors,  the  Caterer  was  for  some  time  a 

s* Howard  Household  BooTcs  (Collier),  74. 

35  Ibid.,  439. 

se  Ibid.,  439,  441,  442,  etc. 

37  Ibid.,  453. 

38  Ibid.,  480. 

so  Ibid.,  117,  346. 

40  Ibid.,  97.  i 

« Howard  Household  BooTcs  (Collier),  441,  465,  etc. 

42  Ibid.,  208. 


18  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [292 

Richard  Wolman,43  but  that  office  was  later  filled  by  a  man 
called  Holt.  In  this  household  furthermore  were  all  those  ser- 
vants, usually  officially  called  yeomen  and  grooms,  though  here 
we  are  able  to  distinguish  them  only  in  terms  of  their  places. 
Thus  constantly  mentioned  were  Lawrence  of  the  Hall,44  Nicholas 
Wardrobe,45  Nicholas  of  Buttery,46  Oliver  the  Butler,47  Robin  of 
Stable,48  Richard  of  Stable,49  Webbe  of  Stable,50  Will  of  Bake- 
house,51 Andrew  of  Chamber,52  Maud  of  the  Kitchen,53  Jak  of 
Kitchen,54  Hary  of  Cellar,55  Edmond  of  Ewery,58,  the  Footman,57 
etc. 

There  was  a  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,58  whose  brother,  with  the 
apt  cognomen  of  ''Gauge,"  may  have  been  his  assistant.  A 
brewer,  a  baker,  and  a  cook  were  of  course  hired.59  The  cook 
was  assisted  by  "Jak"  above  noted,  who  may  have  been  one  of 
the  children  of  the  kitchen.  We  may  complete  this  general 
group,  by  including  in  it  two  men  whose  presence  about  the 
place  at  Stoke  must  have  been  welcome  then,  and  whose  names 
delight  us  yet  to-day,  though  they  afford  us  but  a  mute  and 
pathetic  vision  of  once  bright  souls.  Surely  the  hours  were 
not  all  leaden,  where  "Nicholas  the  singer"  and  "Thomas  the 
Harper"  lived!60 

Unfortunately  Stoke  was  by  no  means  exempt  from  the  an- 
noying ravages  of  rats  and  moles,  and  two  professional  exter- 
minators  of  these  two  varieties  of  vermin  —  a  "rat  man"  61  and 

43  Ibid.,  216. 

44  Ibid.,  56,  94,  etc. 

45  Ibid.,  52,  59,  etc. 
"Ibid.,  124. 

47  Ibid.,  97. 

48/fctd.,  58,  90,  96,  etc. 

4»  Ibid.,  390. 

so  Ibid.,  52. 

si  Ibid.,  125. 

*&  Ibid.,  361. 

ss  Ibid.,  114,  169,  etc. 

64  Ibid.,  102. 

85  Ibid.,  470. 

58  Ibid.,  470. 
5T  Ibid.,  440. 

58 Howard  Housetwld  Books  (Collier),  135. 

59  Ibid.,  213. 

eo  Ibid.,  48,  124,  163,  203,  284,  etc. 
6i  Ibid.,  51. 


293]  THE  PERSONNEL  OP   THE  HOUSEHOLD  19 

a  ' '  mole  killer, ' ' 62  drew  wages  occasionally  in  their  official  ca- 
pacities. Howard  also  employed  a  "bird  taker"63  whom  it  is 
perhaps  unfair  to  associate  thus  with  the  pest  fighters.  This 
may  have  been  the  fellow  called  another  time  the  "partreche 
taker,"64  or  still  again,  "the  faconer."65 

Lord  John  Howard  followed  the  prevalent  custom  of  busying 
various  groups  of  children  about  the  house  in  one  capacity  or 
another,  and  he  also  paid  for  the  services  of  a  few  female  hands. 
Thus  at  Stoke  there  were  youngsters  regularly  in  the  kitchen, 
buttery  and  stable,  while  another  little  band  of  five  sang  in 
choir  at  the  Chapel  Service.66  These  young  folk  were  known 
habitually,  like  their  older  prototypes,  in  the  terms  of  their  ser- 
vice —  as  "  the  Children  of  the  keching, ' ' 67  or,  individually, 
"Campbell,  lad  of  the  Kechyn,"68  "Colte,  child  of  the  Bat- 
ery,"69  "Little  Richard  of  the  Chapel,"70  or  "Edward  of  the 
Chapel."  71  This  same  indiscriminate  merging  of  name  in  office 
also  occurred  with  the  women  servants;  thus  there  was  "Anes 
chamberer, " 72  "Katherine  of  Chamber,"73  also  another  Kath- 
erine,  or  better,  ' '  Cateryne  the  washer. ' ' 74  All  these,  and  a 
maid  of  the  dairy  were  regularly  hired. 

"We  have  not  yet,  however,  taken  note  of  all  the  people  who 
lived  out  their  days  in  Lord  Howard's  little  orbit.  Particularly 
were  there  four  others  in  his  household  of  whom  we  would  so 
gladly  learn  more.  The  first  of  these  was  a  young  man  called 
Diago,75  perhaps  a  foreigner  to  whom  Howard  grew  attached, 
when  he  was  on  the  continent,  at  Calais  or  elsewhere.  What 
Diago  did  to  earn  his  salt,  we  are  unable  to  say,  but  money  was 
from  time  to  time  given  him  in  pittances,  and  he  was  kindly 

62  Ibid.,  359. 

es  Ibid.,  425. 

e*  Ibid.,  442. 

es  Ibid.,  464. 

ee  Ibid.,  213. 

67  Hoiuard  Household  Books  (Collier),  151. 

es  Ibid.,  117. 

69  Ibid.,  465. 

•ro  Ibid.,  344. 

71  Ibid.,  324. 

izlbid.,  51,  99,  etc. 

TS  Ibid.,  319. 

74  Ibid.,  51 ;  also  211,  301,  etc.,  for  dairy  maid. 

75  Ibid.,  108. 


20  THE   HOUSEHOLD    OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [294 

taken  care  of  at  Howard's  expense  once  when  he  was  ill.76  The 
second  lad,  known  as  ' '  Tousan ' '  —  was  a  page  probably,  for  he 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite,  and  often  with  Lord  John,  who 
supplied  his  wardrobe ;  now  it  was  a  new  boublet  of  white  and 
blue,™  or  a  pair  of  hose,78  a  bonnet,79  gown,80  or  perchance  a 
pair  of  shoes.81  The  other  two  were  ' '  fools, ' '  and  in  this  respect 
Howard  seems  to  have  surpassed  the  rest  of  the  nobility.  The 
one,  "Tom  Fole,"  as  he  was  called,  was  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  house  proper,  while  his  companion  in  nonsense  had  the 
kitchen  for  his  sphere  of  activity.82 

Though  an  establishment  employing  many  less  servants  than 
the  immense  households,  Lord  Howard's  menage  did  have  about 
the  same  departments  as  their  rs.  Having  surveyed  in  detail  the 
composition  of  these  three  characteristic  noble  houses,  we  can 
say  further,  that  neither  the  household  of  Richard  Bertie 83  and 
his  Countess,  nor  that  of  the  Earl  of  "Worcester  present  any  re- 
markable variations  from  those  we  have  examined  here,  and 
while  there  were  some  curious  special  servants  hired  both  by  Sir 
Thomas  Lovell  and  his  son,  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  there  were  few 
duties  assigned  to  them  which  could  not  have  been  equally  well 
handled  by  some  of  the  numerous  yeomen  officers,  yeomen,  or 
grooms  of  the  other  establishments. 

Finally,  custom  in  regard  to  the  servants  suitable  for  a  noble- 
man's equipment  had  crystallized  by  the  beginning  of  the  17th 
century.  The  earlier  practices  had  become  stereotyped  and 
slight  indeed  are  the  changes  which  have  crept  in.  At  that  time 
a  model  establishment,  according  to  an  observant  man,  the  poet 
and  litterateur,  Richard  Brathwait,84  must  have  included  the 
following  offices:  Of  chief  officials,  three  were  indispensable, 

re  ibid.,  124. 
7T  Ibid.,  356. 

78  Ibid.,  161. 

79  Ibid.,  134. 
so  Ibid.,  99. 
si  Ibid.,  56. 

82 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  228,  284,  324,  etc. 

ss  See  Appendix  A  for  summaries  of  the  households  of  the  Berties  and 
the  Earl  of  Worcester,  and  the  full  lists  of  all  the  servants  in  the  establish- 
ments of  Lovell  and  his  son. 

s*  E.  Brathwait,  Household  of  an  Earle,  3-4.  ' '  What  officers  and  Ser- 
vants the  state  of  an  Earle  requireth  to  have,"  etc. 


295]  THE  PERSONNEL  OF   THE  HOUSEHOLD  21 

these  being  the  Steward,  Treasurer,  and  Comptroller;  while  the 
services  of  an  Auditor  and  a  Receiver  could  be  used,  yet,  as  Brath- 
wait  tersely  expresses  it  ".  .  .  theese  are  extraordinary,  and 
two  of  the  cheefe  Officers  (being  men  of  experience)  may  supply 
those  places;  the  one  in  taking  accompt,  the  other  in  receiving 
rents  and  profitts,  and  there  by  free  the  Earl  from  fees  that 
belong  to  those  Officers. ' '  Thrifty  leeway  also  made  it  optional 
whether  there  were  a  "Clarke  Comptroller"  or  not,  that  official 
being  likewise  the  holder  of  a  sinecure  ' '  if  the  cheefe  Officers  be 
painefull  in  their  places." 

Aside  from  two  Gentlemen  Ushers  and  a  Preacher  or  ' '  Chap- 
laine  in  ordinary,"  the  well-compacted  list  succinctly  tallies  off 
the  following  picturesque  train 85  —  "A  gentelman  of  the  Horse, 
A  Secretarye,  tenn  gentelmen  waiters,  two  gentlemen  pages,  a 
Clarke  of  the  Kitchin,  an  Yeoman  Usher,  and  Groome  of  the 
great  Chamber,  Two  Yeomen  of  the  Warderobe  of  apparell  for 
the  Earle  and  Ladye:  Two  Groomes  for  their  bedchamber,  one 
Yeoman  and  Groome  for  the  Wardrobe  of  Bedds.  An  Yeoman 
Vsher,  and  Groome  for  the  Hall.  An  Yeoman  and  Groome  for 
the  Sellor,  An  Yeoman  and  Groome  for  the  Pantry,  An  Yeoman 
and  Groome  for  the  Buttery.  An  Yeoman  for  the  Ewerye.  An 
Yeoman  of  the  Horse.  An  Yeoman  rider.  Five  Musitions.  Six 
Yeomen  waiters.  Two  Footemen.  An  Yeoman  Purveyor.  A 
Master  Cooke,  Under  Cookes  and  Pastry  men  three.  An  Yeoman 
and  Groome  in  the  Squillerye.  One  to  be  in  the  Larder  and 
Slaughter  house.  An  Achator.  Conducts  and  Kitchin  boyes 
three.  Two  in  the  woodeyarde.  In  the  Bakehouse,  Brewhouse, 
and  Granorye,  five.  A  Trumpeter.  A  Drumme.  An  Yeoman 
and  Groome  in  the  Armorye.  An  Yeoman  and  Groome  for  the 
garden.  A  coatcheman,  A  waggoner,  Six  Groomes  for  the  Stable, 
A  groome  for  the  Lawndry,  Two  Yeomen  Porters.  Gentlewomen, 
Chambennaydes,  and  Lawnederers,  the  number  to  be  set  downe 
by  the  Earle  and  his  Ladye. ' ' 

In  conclusion,  the  explanation  for  this  similarity  in  the  com- 
position of  these  households  is  in  part  not  hard  to  discover.  The 
nobles  lived  under  very  much  the  same  conditions  all  over  Eng- 
land, and  their  management  problems  were  alike.  Again,  in 

85  See  Appendix  B  for  another  like  list  dating  from  the  same  time, 
which,  however,  is  not  so  orderly  as  this  one. 


22  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [296 

the  household  as  elsewhere,  dearly  loved  tradition  and  long  set 
precedent  tended  to  level  irregularities  and  found  a  uniform 
practice.  Thus  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  wanted  his  beer  brewed, 
his  cattle  slaughtered  and  the  meat  cut  up,  and  his  bread  made, 
all,  as  these  operations  had  been  done  in  the  time  of  the  late 
earl,  his  father.86  And,  finally,  the  royal  household,  which  was 
the  exact  counterpart  of  the  great  noble  establishments,  first, 
because  it,  with  them,  evolved  amid  identical  surroundings,  cer- 
tainly was  later  used  by  the  nobles  as  the  great  standard  by 
which  to  determine  the  details  of  their  own  managements.  We 
do  not  have  to  be  guided  here  entirely,  by  the  perhaps  safe 
analogy  of  such  a  practice  in  similar  society  to-day.  Richard 
Brathwait  in  setting  forth  his  rules  and  orders  declares  in  regard 
to  the  functions  of  Gentlemen  Ushers  "But  (for  the  order  of 
service  which  the  Earle  may  have  wher  he  pleaseth  to  keepe  his 
estate)  I  will  referr  them  to  marke  and  see  how  the  table  in 
the  presence  chamber  of  the  Kinges  Majestic  is  served  and  or- 
dered; and  the  better  to  furnish  themselves  with  knowledge, 
they  are  to  make  meanes  that  they  may  be  in  the  presence  cham- 
ber, not  onely  at  ordinary  e  times,  but  also  when  the  Kings  Maj- 
estie  feasteth  and  entertaineth  great  strangers  and  Embassa- 
dors."87 

Earlier  than  this  also,  in  the  days  of  Henry  the  8th,  it 
was  plainly  recognized  that  noblemen  should  pattern  their  es- 
tablishments after  the  royal  household;  in  the  22nd  year  of  the 
reign  of  that  monarch,  some  special  regulations  were  drawn  up 
entitled  "Articles  devised  by  his  royal  highness,  with  the  ad- 
vice of  his  council,  for  the  establishment  of  good  order  and 
reformation  of  sundry  errors  and  misuses  in  his  houshold  and 
chambers."  The  31st  chapter  of  these  reads  as  follows:  "No 
officer  to  be  admitted  in  future,  but  such  as  be  of  good  de- 
meanor, and  respect  to  be  had  that  they  be  personages  of  good 
fashion,  gesture,  countenance,  and  stature,  so  as  the  king's  house, 
which  is  requisite  to  be  the  mirrour  of  others,  may  be  furnished 
with  such  as  are  elect,  tried,  and  picked,  for  the  King's  hon- 
our."88 

se  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  8-10,  12,  and  20-22. 

87  Brathwait,  10-11. 

ss  Archaeologia,  III,  154  et  seq. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS 

O  good  old  man,  how  well  in  thee  appears 
The  constant  service  of  the  antique  world, 
When  service  swet  for  duty,  not  for  meed! 
Thou  art  not  for  the  fashion  of  these  times, 
When  none  will  sweat  but  for  promotion; 
And  having  that,  do  choke  their  service  up 
Even  with  the  having:    'tis  not  so  with  thee. 

As  Ton  Like  It,  Act.  II,  Sc.  3. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  size  or  the  intricate  composition 
of  the  serving  body  belonging  to  a  nobleman,  every  member  list- 
ed in  such  a  teeming  dramatis  personae  was  scheduled,  actually 
to  perform  some  role,  exalted  or  humble,  on  the  domestic  stage. 
The  jingling  pomp  and  haughty  nourish  which  large  numbers  of 
servants  made  possible,  was,  in  the  estimation  of  most  of  the 
nobility,  but  the  richly  cherished  by-product  of  a  great  organ- 
ization whose  foremost  function  was  service. 

It  is  a  trite  remark  perhaps,  that  the  proper  construction  and 
successful  control  of  one  of  those  complicated  machines  was  of 
the  weightiest  import,  and  very  difficult  of  accomplishment, 
eighty  or  even  two  hundred  human  beings,  assembled  from  all 
over  in  one  household,  many  of  them  men,  by  nature  upright  and 
reliable,  but  also  many,  actuated  by  uncertain  humor,  and  fitful 
caprice,  full  of  sly  deceit,  prone  at  any  moment  to  seek  profit 
for  themselves  at  their  master's  expense,  though  their  double 
dealing  threw  all  out  of  harmony  —  to  institute  and  maintain 
proper  control  here  —  was  indeed  a  hydra-headed  servant  prob- 
lem of  the  first  magnitude!  So  grave  was  it,  in  fact,  that  fre- 
quently thoughtful  fathers  when  about  to  transfer  to  younger 
shoulders  the  management  of  a  rich  patrimony,  anxiously  pre- 
sented therewith,  careful  admonitions  regarding  servitors,  found- 
ed on  personal  experiences  of  their  own  which  often  had  been 
exceedingly  bitter. 

23 


24  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [298 

James,  7th  Earl  of  Derby  (born  1606)  was  such  a  solicitous 
parent.  Twice,  at  least,  in  long  letters,  veritable  "epistles"  to 
his  son  and  heir,  Charles,  Lord  Strange,  he  narrated  at  length  for 
the  young  man's  benefit,  important  chapters  in  his  life  history, 
and  in  one  of  those  communications,  particularly,  earnestly  coun- 
seled him  with  much  practical  advice.  He  doubtless  hoped  to 
make  his  instructions  regarding  servants  emphatic  by  conclud- 
ing them  in  this  wise :  ' '  Most  of  these  misfortunes  I  have  met 
with  in  servants,  which  hath  given  me  great  vexation ;  therefore, 
I  hope  by  my  experience  you  will  avoid  them  as  much  as  possi- 
ble. I  might  have  enlarged  upon  many  of  the  passages  and  ob- 
servations here  recited,  in  which  I  have  been  sufficiently  exer- 
cised to  give  you  examples  both  of  pride  and  corruption  in  those 
employed  about  you;  but  I  am  loath  to  dwell  too  long  on  one 
subject,  not  knowing  how  long  a  time  I  must  dwell  here  my- 
self,1 .  .  ."  etc. 

The  9th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  while  imprisoned  in  the 
Tower  because  he  was  implicated  in  the  Gun  Powder  Plot,  wiled 
away  some  of  the  tedium  of  his  long  incarceration,  likewise  by 
writing  out  for  his  son  a  detailed  account  of  how  his  estates  were 
to  be  run,  and  no  small  part  of  this  description  bears  upon  the 
choice  and  control  of  servants.  The  earl's  narrative  is  character- 
ized by  a  cynical  vehemence,  partly  because  of  his  unhappy  life, 
but  also  because,  as  he  declares,  his  own  father,  foolishly  indul- 
gent, neglected  to  instruct  him  how  to  assume  and  carry  the 
heavy  responsibilities  which  his  vast  estates  engendered.  Inherit- 
ing these  at  the  immature  age  of  twenty-one,  in  the  callow  sim- 
plicity of  youth  wily  servants  so  neatly  led  him  about  by  the 
nose,  that  before  he  was  aware,  in  the  short  compass  of  a  year 
and  a  half,  he  found  himself  £15,000  in  debt  on  an  annual  in- 
come of  £3,000,2  and  this  was  but  a  portion  of  his  early  difficul- 
ties as  presently  will  be  narrated. 

1  Second    Letter    to    his    son,    47.     Stanley    Papers,    Part    3,    3.     It    is 
interesting  to  note  that  these  admonitions  to  his  son  are  copied  by  the  earl 
almost  literally  from  the  famous  "Precepts"  which  Lord  Burghley  set  down 
for  the  use  of  his  son,  Robert  Cecil.     There  are  some  slight  additions  and 
some  changes  in  wording,  otherwise  the  hard-headed  sense  of  the  careful  old 
statesman  is  reproduced  verbatim.     This  is  a  most  remarkable  example  of 
the  great  influence  of  Burghley's  little  work  which  went  through  six  edi- 
tions between  1617  and  1780. 

2  Instructions  of  Henry  Percy  to  His  Son,  Archaeologia,  XXVII,  306-358. 


299]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  25 

The  import  of  this  problem  it  was,  further,  which  induced 
observant  men  like  Richard  Brathwait,3  or  the  unsigned  author 
of  the  ' '  Breviate, ' ' 4  when  they  wrote  their  treatises  on  house- 
hold management,  to  be  very  straightforward  in  stating  their 
opinions  and  laying  down  their  precepts  about  servants.  It  is 
in  this  light,  therefore,  that  the  characters  of  servants,  especially 
of  the  officers  —  the  manner  of  their  hiring  —  and  the  bonds 
which  existed  between  them  and  their  noble  masters  must  be 
studied. 

The  chief  officers  in  every  household  had  to  be  men  of  versatile 
abilities,  and  they  were  often  of  knightly,  if  not  of  noble  rank. 
Brathwait  affirms  that  he  has  ".  .  .  knowne,  not  onely  gentle- 
men of  great  livinges,  but  also  many  Knightes,  yea  Barons 
Sonnes,  and  some  Earles  Sonnes,  to  serve  Earles  in  places  of 
office, ' ' 5  and  he  neatly  characterizes  these  principal  household 
men  as  those  who  should  be  ".  .  .  not  only  well  borne  and 
of  good  livinges,  but  also  grave  and  experienced,  not  prowde 
and  haughty,  neither  too  affable  and  easy ;  gentle  and  courteous 
in  matters  concerning  themselves,  but  severe  and  sharpe,  if  of- 
fences be  committed  against  God,  or  their  Lorde.  .  . " 8  He 
wfts  surely  right  in  his  estimate  even  if  his  last  requisite  does 
smell  somewhat  strongly  of  the  new  religious  leven  of  his  day. 

The  poet,  John  Skelton,  living  much  earlier  than  Brathwait 
thus  sketched  in  outline  the  servitors  of  the  unfortunate  4th 
Earl  of  Northumberland: 

So  noble  a  man,  so  valiaunt  lord  and  knyght, 
Fulfilled  with  honor,  as  all  the  world  doth  ken; 

At  his  commaundement,  which  had  both  day  and  nyght 
Knyghtes  and  squyers,  at  euery  season  when 
He  calde  upon  them,  as  meniall  houshold  men;  f 

So  spake  two  men  who  lived  at  either  terminus  of  this  long 
epoch.  In  the  interval  flourished  noblemen  who  were  similarly 
served.  The  three  chief  officials  in  the  household  of  Henry, 

s  Some  Eules  and  Orders  for  the  Government  of  the  House  of  an  Earle, 
Set  Downe  by  Rifchard]  Brathwait.  In  Miscellanea  Antigua  Anglicana, 
8th  Tract. 

*  A  Breviate  touching  the  Order  and  Government  of  a  Nobleman  'B  House, 
1605.  ArcMeologia,  XIII,  315-389. 

5  Brathwait,  op.  cit.,  15. 

elbid.,  6. 

7  Lament  on  the  Doulourous  Dethc,  etc.,  Dyce  ed.,  vol.  1. 


26  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [300 

Earl  of  Derby,  were  men  of  knightly  rank,  and  were  all  related 
directly  or  by  marriage  with  the  great  Stanley  family.8  The 
Steward,  Wm.  ffarington  (sic)  was  a  gentleman  of  dignity  and 
importance,  who  faithfully  served  under  three  generations  of 
the  earl's  family,  and  conducted  successfully  meantime,  various 
important  work  for  the  crown,  outside,  quite,  of  his  official  ca- 
pacity in  the  Derby  household.  He  had  .some  Oxford  training ; 
was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Inner  Temple  in  August  of 
1555,  "and  throughout  his  life  was  an  active  and  influen- 
tial magistrate."  Through  his  marriage  with  Anne,  the  only 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall,  he  got,  into  the  bar- 
gain, a  broad  estate  of  his  own,  a  nearer  relationship  with  the 
Stanley  family,  and  acquaintance  with  other  families  of  rank. 
Under  the  Earls  of  Derby,  he  was  first  Secretary,  then  Comp- 
troller to  Edward,  and  when  that  nobleman  died  in  1572,  he 
became  Steward  to  Henry,  the  new  earl,  and  upon  the  latter 's 
death  in  1593,  the  Earl  Ferdinando  made  ffarington  his  Receiver- 
General. 

Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  who  was  Treasurer  of  the  household 
in  1572,  at  the  death  of  Edward  Earl  of  Derby,  was  also,  through 
his  mother,  kin  of  the  Stanleys,  while  in  1572  his  eldest  son  mar- 
ried the  grand-daughter  of  the  Earl  Henry,  whose  Steward 
Sherburne  had  been  since  the  death  of  Earl  Edward  in  that 
year.  Sir  Richard  had  been  twice  earlier  returned  to  Parlia- 
ment —  once,  in  1555  for  Liverpool,  and  again  in  1554  and  1557 
for  Preston.  He  too,  like  ffarington,  his  colleague  in  office,  was 
at  different  times  selected  by  the  Crown  for  the  performance  of 
royal  duty.  Thus  under  Philip  and  Mary  ' '  he  was  High  Stew- 
ard and  Master  Forester  of  the  Forest  of  Bowland,  in  York- 
shire." Under  King  Henry  the  8th  he  had  been  a  commissioner 
for  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  and  he  acted  in  a  similar 
capacity  for  Edward  6th  for  the  sale  of  chantry  lands.  In  1581 
he  was  chosen  with  Henry  Earl  of  Derby  and  others,  by  no  less 
men  than  Burghley  and  Walsingham,  to  arbitrate  with  the  ten- 
ants a  property  quarrel  in  the  Collegiate  Church  of  Manchester. 
He  was  also  a  Deputy  Lieutenant  of  Lancashire,  and  was  made 
Governor  of  the  Isle  of  Man  by  Edward,  his  first  patron  among 

the  Earls  of  Derby.9 

i 

s  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  Introduction,  xviii-xcviii  for  all  these  facts. 
»  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  notes,  104-105. 


301]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  27 

Another  of  the  servants,  Michael  Doughtie,  Clerk  of  the  Kitch- 
in,  was  a  wealthy  man,  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Preston  in 
1588,  and  for  Liverpool  in  1592.  His  descendants  became  yet 
more  closely  related  to  the  Stanleys  through  the  marriage  of  his 
great-grand-daughter  with  Sir  Thomas  Stanley.  She  thus  be- 
came the  mother  of  Edward,  llth  Earl  of  Derby.10 

In  addition,  mention  might  also  be  made  of  the  honorable 
careers  of  Alexander  Rigbie,  also  a  high  servitor  in  Earl  Henry 's 
establishment,  a  Deputy-Lieutenant  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
Lancashire  —  and  of  Wm.  Foxe,  or  ffoxe,  who  was  one  of  this 
same  noble's  council  men,  and  also  Comptroller  of  his  house- 
hold.11 

When  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  and  his  lady  retired 
each  year  to  their  "secret  house"  —  a  less  ostentatious  house- 
keeping with  fewer  servants,  conducted  in  some  lodge  near  the 
big  mansion  or  castle,12  among  those  who  were  in  daily  attend- 
ance at  the  earl's  board,  were  his  second  and  third  sons,  acting 
respectively  as  Carver  and  Sewer.13  The  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen 
in  this  same  household  was  in  1512,  a  Thomas  Percy.  This  ser- 
vant was  probably  one  of  the  earl's  relatives,  as  was  the  Robert 
Percy,  Comptroller  of  the  House  in  1514.14 

This  officing  of  certain  members  of  the  family  was  a  common 
practice  among  the  English  nobility,  and  no  taint  or  indignity 
was  associated  with  such  .service  either.  Brathwait  tells  of  an 
earl  whose  brother  filled  for  him  the  office  of  Carver  and  Sewer, 
and  according  to  him,  the  menial  duties  of  the  humble  one's 
station  did  not  stunt  the  healthy  waxing  of  his  social  life  a  jot, 
for  he  grow  in  Brath wait's  own  day  to  "an  honourable  Knight 

10  Hid.,  notes,  106-107. 

11  Ibid.,  notes,  107,  109-111. 

12  Northumberland  Household  Book,  1827  ed.,  442. 
is  Ibid.,  362. 

i* Ibid.,  1.  Henry,  Earl  of  Worcester's  Steward,  was  a  Sir  Ralph  Blaek- 
stone.  Eeport  on  the  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  etc.  Hist.  MSS. 
Com.,  12th  report,  3-6,  being  an  old  servant's  account  of  the  earl's  officers. 
Thomas  Widmerpoole,  Steward  in  the  household  of  Lord  William  Howard  of 
Naworth,  appears  to  have  been  a  learned  man.  He  captions  his  orderly 
accounts  in  Latin,  etc.  Howard  Household  Books,  Surtees  Soc.,  1,  e.g.  We 
recall  also  the  ungrateful  Gonril's  letter-writing,  information-bearing  Stew- 
ard, Oswald,  whom  Kent  so  roundly  abused. 


28  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [302 

of  great  accounte,  having  done  many  good  services  to  his  Coun- 
try."15 

Significantly  enough,  however,  later  report  from  the  house- 
holds of  Northumberland  and  the  Earls  of  Derby,  both,  prove 
this  custom  to  have  been  not  unfraught  with  humiliation  and 
distressing  risks.  There  were  relatives'  among  the  household 
group  who  took  such  mean  advantage  of  the  youthful  inexperi- 
ence of  the  9th  Earl  of  Northumberland  by  robbing  him.  Tell- 
ing his  son  of  the  fact  long  afterwards,  that  nobleman  drew  a 
melancholy  picture  of  the  base  ingratitude  of  his  servants  —  "If 
these  had  bene  yong  servants,  and  new  commers,  the  wonder  had 
bene  the  lesse;  but  they  were  cousens,  old  servants,  councellers 
and  sutche,  as  somme  of  them  had  told  15  years,  some  20  in  his 
service. ' ' 16 

The  7th  Earl  of  Derby,  likewise  had  grown  cautious  about 
employing  kinsmen  in  his  household  service  —  "I  am  loth  to 
have  many  of  a  House  too  neare  a-Kin.  For  by  that  Meanes  you 
will  sometimes  suffer  one  too  much,  for  another's  Sake."17 
Later,  he  strengthened  this  wjarning  to  his  son  — ".  .  .  be 
not  served  with  kinsmen  and  friends,  for  they  expect  much  and 
do  little.  .  ,"18 

The  distinction  attaching  to  these  higher  officers  in  a  house- 
hold was  formally  recognized  in  various  interesting  ways.  They 
had  their  own  little  bands  of  servants,  attendant  on  their  per- 
sonal wants.  This  added  a  dignity  to  such  offices.  Again,  on 
so  well  ordered  an  occasion  as  was  the  daily  dinner  the  prece- 
dence of  these  men  over  the  rest  of  the  household  was  proclaimed 
through  their  presence  at  the  first  table  in  the  Hall.19  Further- 
more, in  Northumberland's  household  at  least,  the  Chamberlain 
and  Steward  often  found  their  "mess"  graced  with  some  dainty 
tid-bit  which  they  alone  shared  with  the  earl  himself.  This  was 
especially  apt  to  be  the  case  if  strangers  were  supping  at  their 
board :  ' '  Item  it  is  thought  goode  that  Hennys  be  bought  from 
Cristynmas  to  Shroftyde  so  they  be  good  and  at  ij  d.  a  pece  and 
my  Lord(,)  Maister  Chambreleyn  and  the  Stewardes  Mees  to  be 

"Brathwait,  16. 

16  Advice  to  his  son,  Archaeologia,  xxvii,  322. 

IT  7th  Earl  of  Derby,  Advice  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  3,  3,  36. 

is  Ibid.,  44. 

.  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  5;  Brathwait,  16,  17,  e.g. 


303]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  29 

served  with  theym  and  noo  other. ' ' 20  Also  their  regular  food 
portions  as  well  as  their  special  diets  for  Lent,  Bogation  Days, 
and  other  fasts  and  feasts,  were  described  with  the  messes  of 
Northumberland's  brother  —  and  were,  in  fact,  identical  with 
his  and  are  somewhat  more  elaborate,  or  better,  less  plain  than 
those  of  their  underlings.  Thus  the  Lenten  breakfasts  of  these 
gentlemen,  consisting  of  two  loaves  of  bread,  a  manchet  (another 
sort  of  bread),  a  gallon  of  beer,  two  salt-fish  and  four  white 
herring,  while  frugal  enough,  were  not  quite  such  wintry  cheer  as 
the  mere  bread,  beer,  and  salt-fish  set  out  for  the  breakfasts  of 
the  yeomen  officers  of  the  household.21 

Men  of  high  calibre  were  selected  for  these  principal  positions, 
because  only  educated,  conscientious  and  thoroughly  honest  offi- 
cials could  successfully  execute  their  duties.  In  addition  to  the 
peculiar  functions  of  the  head  officers  which  were  often  of  great 
trust,  these  men  were  responsible  for  the  whole  household.  In 
1587  Henry  Derby  ordered,  "It'm  that  my  Lo.  his  Steward 
or  Comp troll'  or  th'  one  of  them  Shalbee  daylie  attendante  or 
at  the  leaste  from  the  ffridaye  at  night  till  the  Moundaye,  for 
the  bett'  gou'ment  of  his  Lo.  house  and  the  p'fect  vewe  of  eu'ie 
inferior  officers  breyvement. ' ' 22  Bra  th  wait  goes  much  further 
in  his  description  of  this  superintendency  —  the  officers  " .  .  . 
must  dayly  goe  into  everie  office  of  household  to  see  that  every 
officer  doe  his  duty,  according  to  their  severall  chardges.  ,  . 
They  must  in  every  of  these  offices  oversee  that  all  things  ap- 
pertaining unto  them  be  kept  in  orderly  and  decent  manner,  that 
all  wastefull  expences  in  every  of  them  may  be  avoyded. ' ' 2S 

This  daily  tour  of  inspection  was  to  carry  them  from  the  pas- 
tures where  they  were  unawares  to  appear  ".  .  .  at  times 
unknowne  both  to  the  Purveyors  and  pasture  keepers,  by  which 
meanes  those  growndes  will  be  better  saved  from  being  over- 
eaten by  other  mens  cattel, ' ' 2*  through  every  office  in  the  house 
to  the  Porter's  Lodge  ".  .  .  to  see  it  be  not  the  place  for  the 
receipte  of  the  vnthriftes  of  the  house,  nor  the  harbour  of  drink- 
ing companions. " 25  To  the  intent  that  this  work  might  be 

20  Northumberland  Household  Book,  103. 

21  Ibid.,  74,  76,  78,  82,  97. 

22  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  21-22. 

23  Brathwait,  8-9. 
2*  Ibid.,  7-8. 

25  Ibid.,  9. 


30  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [304 

effectively  done  ; '  The  cheef e  officers  themselves  ought  to  be  free 
from  all  vices  and  offences  (so  farr  as  humaine  frailty  will  suffer 
them)  ;  for  how  can  they  punish  others  for  their  faultes,  them- 
selves being  guilty  of  the  same  offences?  Both  the  Lord  and 
cheefe  Officers  ought  to  be  an  example  to  the  whole  fam- 
ily. .  . " 2G  Brathwait  would  have  the  success  of  this  policing 
further  assured  by  the  master  of  the  household  himself,  who 
was  once  at  least  gravely  to  harangue  the  assembled  household 
on  the  position  of  the  officers  and  the  submission  due  to  them. 
He  suggests  a  sample  oration  for  that  occasion  which  he  winds 
up  in  this  manner  —  "And  yow  myne  other  Officers  and  Ser- 
vants I  doe  now  very  earnestly  chardge  and  commande  yow  all, 
upon  perill  of  my  displeasure,  and  losse  of  yowr  places  of  ser- 
vice, that  none  of  yow  be  so  unadvisedly  hardy  as  to  shew  against 
my  saide  cheefe  Officers  contempt  or  frowardnes^  ffor  if  any 
happen  so  to  doe,  I  will  take  it  as  if  it  were  done  against  my 
selfe."  and  proud  of  his  rhetoric  he  pats  himself  on  the  back 
by  humbly  remarking  —  "My  meaning  is  not  to  wish  the  Earle 
to  follow  this,  my  rude  discourse;  but  to  serve  for  a  grownde 
for  him  to  frame  a  better  speech  upon" ! 27 

Real  punishment  for  an  inferior  servant,  guilty  of  violating 
his  charge,  lay  through  an  officer's  report  of  the  misdemeanor  to 
the  master  of  the  house,  and  as  the  officers  equally  reported  zeal- 
ous painstaking  on  a  servant's  part,  by  this  means  the  under- 
lings were  soon  taught  to  respect  the  dictum  of  their  superiors.28 

If  any  trouble  arose  among  the  servants  necessitating  a  par- 
ticular investigation,  the  case  was  to  be  tried  by  the  officers: 
"The  stewarde  and  eomptroler  are  to  sitt  in  councell  upon  any 
cappitall  cause,  committed,  and  for  the  better  assistannce,  maye 
call  unto  them,  or  eather  of  them,  what  capital  officers  ells  they 
will  make  choyce  of,  for  the  hearinge  such  causes,  and  soe  to 
proceede  to  reformation  if  it  maye  bee,  if  not,  makinge  theire 
lorde  privie  to  the  faulte  comitted,  to  discharge  the  partie,  or 
parties,  so  offendinge,  as  unwoorthie  that  place  they  .serve  in."  29 

"Work  of  this  character  explains  the  advice  given  by  James, 

26  Ibid.,  9. 

27  Brathwait,  5-6. 

28  Breviate,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  316  e*  seq. 

29  Ibid.,  316.     The  officers  were  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the  house- 
hold in  times  of  special  danger  or  sickness  also;  vide  Breviate,  316. 


305]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  31 

7th  Earl  of  Derby,  to  his  son:  '/Have  a  good  steward  of  your 
house,  and  clerk  of  the  kitchen,  who  make  themselves  awed  by 
the  servants  even  as  much  as  yourself ;  and  while  they  serve  you 
well  you  must  countenance  them  well,  so  will  your  house  be 
orderly."30 

In  addition  to  the  officers,  positions  of  honor  about  a  lord  were 
filled  in  most  households  by  young  knights  or  noblemen  who 
thus  acquired  a  good  training.  Henry,  Earl  of  Worcester  was 
attended  ".  .  .  not  by  footmen,  but  by  gentlemen  and  gen- 
tlemen's .sons.  .  ."  There  were  many  of  these  young  gentle- 
men at  £2  to  £700  per  annum,  bred  right  in  the  castle.31  The 
arrangements  in  Northumberland's  household  for  accommodat- 
ing young  men,  some  of  them  at  the  earl's  expense  and  some  of 
them  at  their  "friend's  finding,"  have  already  been  noted.32 
The  same  practice  lived  in  the  establishment  of  Sir  Thomas 
Lovell.  On  June  25th,  1523,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  pounds, 
eight  shillings  and  three  pence  was  paid  to  the  yeoman  of  his 
wardrobe,  a  part  of  which  money  was  for  the  apparel  of  ' ' .  .  . 
the  yong  gentylmen  wardes  and  scolers.  .  . ' ' 33 

Servitors  of  this  character  also  filled  the  like  gentlemen's  of- 
fices for  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby;  all  of  his  Gentlemen  Waiters, 
in  fact,  being  either  the  heirs  or  the  younger  sons ' '  of  independent 
gentlemen  of  first  rank  in  the  country."  3*  In  this  respect  Earl 
Henry  was  but  following  the  custom  of  his  father,  who,  in  turn, 
doubtless  inherited  the  practice  as  a  tradition.  Stow  writing 
about  the  "life  and  death"  of  the  said  Edward,  which  were 
"deserving  Commendation,  and  craving  Memorie  to  be  imitated, " 
notes  the  earl's  generosity  towards  "gentlemen  .  .  .  who 
waited  in  his  service"  —  each  of  whom  ".  .  .  had  allowance 
from  him  to  have  as  well  wages  as  otherwise  for  horse  and 
man."35 

Edward's  proud  descendant,  the  great  7th  Earl,  in  an  enthus- 

so  Second  Letter  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  3,  3,  46. 

si  An  old  servant's  report  of  the  Officers  in  the  house  of  the  earl.  MSS. 
of  Duke  of  Beaufort,  3  and  5. 

32  Vide  Chapter  1,  7. 

ss  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  263. 

a*  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  intro.,  v;  see  also  notes,  111  et  seq.,  where 
their  genealogies  are  worked  out. 

ss  Stowe's  Chronicle,  Fol.  Edit.,  448  b. 


32  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [306 

iastic  eulogy  of  his  ancestor's  virtues  addressed  to  his  son, 
Charles,  Lord  Strange,  confirms  Stow's  report  by  chronicling 
among  the  rest  of  the  old  earl's  good  deeds  this  sterling  one  — 
"He  bredd  up  many  Youths  of  Noblemen,  Knights  &  Esquires 
Sonns  (such  Reputation  had  he  of  good  Government  in  his 
House!  And  the  same  obliged  many  Families  unto  it.)  "  36 

In  1524  the  young  Earl  of  Oxford,  a  minor,  through  his  fath- 
er's death,  was  ordered  by  Chancellor  Wolsey  to  break  up  his 
household,  and  with  his  lady  and  a  few  only  of  their  servants 
to  abide  in  the  house  of  his  father-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk. 
The  great  Cardinal  assigned  as  one  reason  for  this  regulation, 
that  the  young  earl  had  too  little  experience  as  yet  to  guide  his 
own  household.  This  he  was  to  gain  under  a  mature  master. 
During  their  sojourn  with  Norfolk,  this  young  couple  were  to 
pay  ".  .  .  at  such  convenient  prizes  for  their  boards  as  be- 
tweene  the  same  Duke,  and  the  Ladie  his  Dutchess,  his  wife,  and 
the  said  Earle  of  Oxenford,  by  mediation  of  his  friends,  can  be 
accorded,  covenanted,  and  agreed. ' ' 3T  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  true  motive  for  this  decision,  there  is  probably  small  reason 
for  doubting  that  Oxford  served  his  parent  in  some  capacity, 
and  this  regulation  is  of  interest  in  affording  an  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  such  relationships  were  founded. 

Further  light  is  cast  upon  this  very  interesting  practice,  and 
especially  upon  the  kind  of  relationship  which  might  prevail  be- 
tween these  young  gentlemen,  out  for  general  instruction,  and 
the  noblemen  in  whose  service  they  were  placed,  by  the  in- 
structions which  the  Earl  of  Arundell  set  down  in  1620  "for  the 
benefit  of  his  younger  Son,  the  Earl  of  Stafford's  Grandfather, 
under  the  Title; 

"Instructions  for  you  my  Son  William,  how  to  behave  your 
self  at  Norwich. "  "In  these  Instructions  is  the  following  para- 
graph, "You  shall  in  all  Things  reverence  honour  and  obey  my 
Lord  Bishop  of  Norwich,  as  you  would  do  any  of  your  parents, 
esteeminge  whatsoever  He  shall  tell  or  Command  you,  as  if  your 

ss  Advice  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  3,  3,  17. 

37  "An  Order  made  by  the  reverend  Father  in  God  Thomas  Woolsey 
Cardinall  of  England,  by  direct-on  from  the  King,  to  lymitt  John  Earle  of 
Oxenford  in  the  orderinge  of  his  expenses  of  Household  and  other  his  af- 
fairs in  his  yonger  yeares  .  .  .  [etc.]  in  the  xvth  yeare  of  King  Henry 
VHI. "  —  Archaeologia,  XIX,  62-65. 


307]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  33 

Grandmother  of  Arundell,  your  Mother,  or  my  self,  should  .say 
it ;  and  in  all  things  esteem  your  self  my  Lord 's  Page ;  a  breed- 
ing which  youths  of  my  House  far  superior  to  you  were  accus- 
tomed to,  as  my  Grandfather  of  Norfolk,  and  his  Brother  my 
good  Uncle  of  Northampton  were  both  bred  as  Pages  with 
Bishopps,  &c."  " 

Furthermore,  Roper  says  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  received 
his  early  training  in  the  household  of  Cardinal  Morton,  that  he 
was  "received  into  the  house  of  the  right  reverend,  wise,  and 
learned  prelate,  Cardinal  Morton,  where,  though  he  was  young 
of  years,  yet  would  he  at  Christmas-tide  suddenly  sometimes 
step  in  among  the  players,  and  never  studying  for  the  matter 
make  a  part  of  his  own  there  presently  among  them,  which  made 
the  lookerson  more  sport  than  all  the  players  beside.  In  whose 
wit  and  towardness  the  Cardinal  much  delighting  would  say  of 
him  unto  the  nobles  that  divers  times  dined  with  him,  This  child 
here  waiting  at  the  table,  whosoever  shall  live  to-  see  it,  wiU 
prove  a  marvellous  man.  Whereupon  for  his  better  furtherance 
in  learning  he  placed  him  at  Oxford,  &c. " 

The  great  establishment  of  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  a  veritable 
training  school  for  promising  young  sons  of  the  English  nobil- 
ity ;  Professor  Brewer  affirms  that  most  of  the  Officials  of  Henry 
the  Eighth's  time  passed  an  apprenticeship  there,  and  Caven- 
dish tells  how  ".  .  .  at  meals,  there  was  continually  in  his 
chamber  a  board  kept  for  his  Chamberlains,  and  the  Gentlemen 
Ushers,  having  with  them  a  mess  of  the  young  Lords,  and  another 
for  gentlemen."  Among  these  latter  was  "my  Lord  Percy,  the 
son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  [who]  then  at- 
tended upon  the  Lord  Cardinal,  and  was  also  his  servitor;  and 
when  it  chanced  the  Lord  Cardinal  at  any  time  to  repair  to  the 
court,  the  Lord  Percy  would  then  resort  for  his  pastime  unto 
the  queen's  chamber,  and  there  would  fall  in  dalliance  among 
the  queen's  maidens,  being  at  the  last  more  conversant  with 
Mistress  Anne  Boleyn  than  with  any  other;  so  that  there  grew 
such  a  secret  love  between  them  that,  at  length  they  were  in- 
sured together,  intending  to  marry."  38 

The  household  of  Lord  Burghley  had  the  reputation  in  its  day 
also,  like  Wolsey 's  establishment  earlier,  of  being  the  fittest  place 

38  Quoted  by  Furnivall  in  his  Preface  to  Part  1  of  Manners  and  Meals  in 
Olden  Time,  ix.  (Printed  in  Early  English  Text  Society  Publications.) 


34  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [308 

in  England  for  young  gentlemen  to  receive  part  of  their  train- 
ing; an  anonymous  contemporary  biographer  says  of  certain  of 
the  great  statesman's  servants:  "His  lordship  was  [himself] 
served  with  men  of  quality  and  habilitie.  For  the  most  of  the 
principall  gentlemen  in  England  sought  to  preferre  theire  sons 
and  heirs  to  his  service.  Insomuch  as  I  have  nombred  in  his 
House,  attending  on  the  table  twenty  gentlemen  of  his  retayners 
of  a  thousand  pounds  per  annum  a  peece,  in  possession  and  re- 
version, and  of  his  ordinary  men  as  manie,  some  [worth]  three, 
;five,  ten,  yea  twenty  thousand  pounds,  daily  attending  his  lord- 
ship 's  service. ' ' 39 

A  letter  written  by  the  Earl  of  Essex  to  Lord  Burghley,  in 
1576,  regarding  the  training  of  the  former's  son,  also  evidences 
the  high  esteem  in  which  his  Lordship  was  held,  and  the  splen- 
did repute  of  his  household;  it  reads,  in  part,  as  follows  — 
' '  Neverthelesse,  uppon  the  assured  Confidence,  that  your  love 
to  me  shall  dissend  to  my  Childrenne,  and  that  your  Lordship 
will  declare  yourself  a  Frend  to  me,  both  alive  and  dead,  I  have 
willed  Mr.  Waterhouse  to  shew  unto  you  how  you  may  with 
Honor  and  Equity  do  good  to  my  Sonne  Hereford,  and  how  to 
bind  him  with  perpetual  Frendship  to  you  and  your  House. 
And  to  the  Ende  I  wold  have  his  Love  towardes  those  which  are 
dissended  from  you  spring  up  and  increase  with  his  Yeares,  I 
have  wished  his  Education  to  be  in  your  Household,  though  the 
same  had  not  bene  allotted  to  your  Lordship  as  Master  of  the 
Wardes;  and  that  the  whole  Tyme,  which  he  shold  spend  in 
England  in  his  Minority,  might  be  devided  in  Attendance  uppon 
my  Lord  Chamberlayne  and  you,  to  the  End,  that  as  he  might 
frame  himself  to  the  Example  of  my  Lord  of  Sussex  in  all  the 
Actions  of  his  Life,  tending  either  to  the  "Warres,  or  to  the 
Institution  of  a  Nobleman,  so  that  he  might  also  reverence  your 
Lordship  for  your  Wisdome  and  Gravyty,  and  lay  up  your  Coun- 
sells  and  Advises  in  the  Treasory  of  his  Hart. ' ' 40 

This  again  was  another  very  common  practice,  not  always 
conducive  to  nice  harmony  and  quiet  in  a  household ;  such  young 
bloods  were  apt  to  be  haughty,  and  Brathwait  says  that  in  houses 
where  the  head  offices  as  the  Steward's  or  Comptroller's,  were 
occupied  by  men  who  were  perhaps  not  so  fortunate  as  to  be 

39  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  22  et  seq. 

State  Papers,  301-302.     Quoted  by  Furnivall,  op.  cit.,  xv. 


309]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  35 

of  a  rank  equal  to  that  of  these  young  men,  strict  rules  had 
to  be  introduced  compelling  the  prompt  obedience  of  the  latter  to 
such  officers,  or  Bedlam  were  presently  flourishing.41  All  told, 
however,  it  speaks  well  for  the  nobles,  and  the  position  in  society 
which  they  held,  this  willingness  on  the  part  of  young  men  of 
rank  to  serve  them  in  capacities  which  often  entailed  humble 
duties,  and  Brathwait  declares  that  it  was  not  until  the  days 
of  the  Stuarts  that  such  noble  servitors  felt  themselves  disgraced 
by  serving  any  rank  below  their  sovereign.42 

These  officers  and  higher  servitors  of  rank  were  in  close  asso- 
ciation with  their  lords  socially  and  very  intimate  with  them  in 
the  performance  of  their  duties.  It  was  Buckingham's  Sur- 
veyor who  betrayed  him  to  the  King,  and  his  tattlings  point  to  a 
detailed  knowledge  of  his  master's  private  affairs.43  In  fact 
there  were  times  when  officers  became  too  involved  in  the  house 's 
management  for  the  good  of  all  concerned.  When  the  9th  Earl 
of  Northumberland  was  sowing  his  wild  oats,  his  chief  servitors 
went  bond  for  his  debts,  and  in  their  anxiety  to  clear  even,  they 
drove  their  lord  a  sorry  course.  The  earl  vividly  describes 
certain  of  their  evil  promptings:  Debts  had  to  be  paid,  woods 
were  sold  so  fast  and  carelessly  that  in  a  few  years  was  £50,000 
value  disposed  of  for  £20,000  ".  .  .  to  Jewellers  and  Silkc- 
men,  making  their  nests  in  the  branches"  —  and  now  ".  .  . 
the  memory  of  good  trees  in  rotten  rootes  doeth  appere  above 
ground  at  this  day,  being  forced  now  for  the  fewell  reliefe  of 
your  house  at  Petworth,  to  sowe  acorns.  .  ." 

"Now,  woods  being  goen,  fynes  only  rested  to  comme  in  play, 
the  grasse  being  cutt  under  my  feete  for  my  western  lands,  as 
yow  hard  before.  Northumberland,  Cumberland  and  Sussex,  be- 
ing but  coppiholders  of  inheritance,  would  yeald  nothing.  A  littel 
pittance  in  Yorkshire  remayned,  wherein  commodities  might  be 
raysed.  The  tenants  having  somme  few  years  to  comme,  by 
perswasion  of  officers,  I  renewed  there  estates  for  twenty-one 
years ;  made  1700  Ib  fyne,  and  lost  by  that  bargaine  almost  5000 
Ib  a  yeare  till  the  tyme  was  expired.  The  benifitts  yt  fell  to  my 
share,  was,  that  the  tenants  prayed  God  to  blesse  there  wor- 
shipps,  waited  on  them  to  all  there  pleasuers;  feasted  them  and 

41  Brathwait,  15. 

« Ibid.,  15. 

43  Henry  VIII,  I,  iii. 


36  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [310 

lodged  them,  well :  —  littel  bribes  now  and  then  was  discovered 
to  be  taken;  great  ones  I  doubt  not  were  had,  thoughe  carried 
more  closely;  and  thus  in  pompe,  iyngeling  uppe  and  downe  the 
cuntry  with  there  gilt  bosses  and  studded  trappers,  there  tales 
being  at  ease  upon  soft  seates,  weare  auguries  of  an  evell  turne 
towards  me,  and  a  warning  to  yow  to  eschew  glorious  officers 
and  servants,  as  a  peste  to  yowr  estate.  And  could  any  thing 
be  imputed  to  be  the  reason  of  this,  (since  in  myne  owen  tyme 
it  hathe  bene  amended,)  but  the  want  of  knowledge  of  myne 
owne  ?  —  Lands  were  sold,  and  more  would  have  bene  if  I  could, 
at  under  rates.  For  other  petty  and  scattered  demyses,  I  will 
only  remember  in  the  cateloge  of  the  account;  wherein  my 
ignorance  (for  I  will  ley  it  upon  nothing  else)  lost  me,  what 
in  letters  of  adminstration,  —  in  partition  of  thirds,  —  in 
giving  honnymoone  tyme,  or  unavisedly,  —  in  sales  of  woods,  — 
in  demises  of  lands,  and  sale  of  some  littel,  —  60,000  Ib  or 
70,000  lb."44 

Could  it  have  been  otherwise  than  galling  to  the  great  Lord 
John  Howard,  later  Duke  of  Norfolk,  when  he  had  to  write  the 
following  to  his  Steward:  ".  .  .  ferther  mor  were  I  howe 
zower  fader  in  law  my  welweller  a  c.  marke,  for  the  wesche  he 
hathe  of  myn  to  plege  a  kope  of  gold  and  dyverse  hoder  plate 
of  mye,  [to  plege,  I  wol  dessyre]  as  it  a  perethe  be  an  hendentor, 
sehenge  the  grete  ned  I  have  to  stoffe  here,  I  wol  dessyre  heme 
to  delyver  the  seyd  kope  and  al  the  remenant  to  my  welbeloved 
servante  .  .  .  ,  and  also  the  hendentor  of  the  same;  and 
fore  is  paymente  I  dessyr  zowe  to  be  sewerty  ther  fore ;  and  fore 
be  kawse  I  wol  ze  schal  be  sewer  wethe  howete  lose,  I  wol  ze  be 
my  resseyvor  of  thos  mekel  as  folowethe:  firste,  of  Stoke,  Stoke 
all,  Jorges,  Poweneses,  "Wedermersche,  Nederall,  Kalseres,  Kon- 
stabelles,  Bawchoues,  and  of  al  that  lyethe  in  Stoke;  of  myn 
meles  and  bonder,  the  maner  of  Sprotes,  the  maner  of  Bower 
Howese,  the  maner  Leyame  and  Hoverbery  al,  the  maner  of 
Wersted,  the  maner  of  Smitheton,  the  maner  of  Stanstrete,  the 
maner  of  Leffey,  and  the  rewel  (rule)  also  bonder  me  of  my 
konstabelchepe  at  Kolchester;  and  to  resseyve  of  Fenche  al  that 
he  gaderethe  fore  me;  and  to  resseyve  of  Skraton  al  that  he 
gaderethe  bothe  of  the  mel  and  hoder ;  also  f rome  Mekelmes  laste 

<4  Advice  to  his  son,  Archaeologia,  XXVII,  324,  325. 


311]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  37 

was  forethe  al  the  maneres  of  Aldam,  Kokefeld,  and  Prestone: 
and  of  thes  mony  that  ze  schal  resseyve  I  wol  ze  pay  to  John 
Amond  zower  faderlaw,  at  Hester  nexte  komenge  L  mark,  and 
at  Mekelraes  nexte  afeter  L.  market  and  zeffe  Jhon  Hamond 
wol  thos  a  gre  I  bynd  me  be  thes  my  wrytenge  that  this  schal 
be  parformed  .  .  .  "  ! 45 

Skelton,  however,  takes  for  granted  sacrifices  on  the  part  of 
servants  far  more  heroic  than  these  possible  ones.  In  the  "La- 
ment" already  quoted  he  thus  describes  the  sort  of  relationship 
which  ought  to  stand  between  them  and  their  lord : 

And  were  not  they  to  blame,  I  say,  also, 

That  were  aboute  him,  his  owne  seruants  of  trust, 

To  suffre  him  slayn  of  his  mortall  fo? 

Fled  away  from  hym,  let  him  ly  in  the  dust; 
They  bode  not  till  the  reckenyng  were  discust; 

What  shuld  I  flatter?     What  shuld  I  glose  or  paint? 

Fy,  fy  for  shame,  their  hartes  were  to  faint. 

But  al  they  fled  from  hym  for  falshode  or  fere, 
Barones,  knyghtes,  squires,  one  ad  all, 
Together  with  seruantes  of  his  famuly. 

Turned  their  backis  and  let  their  master  fal, 

Of  whos  [life]  they  counted  not  a  flye; 

Take  vp  whose  wold,  for  ther  they  let  him  ly. 
Alas,  his  gold,  his  fee,  his  annual  rent 
Upon  suche  a  sort  was  ille  bestowd  and  spent. 

—  devoted,  even  to  the  sacrifice  of  life  must  it  be,  as  the  poet 
a  little  fulsomely  pictures  it,  with  eye  on  the  young  heir,  we 
fancy. 

The  more  humble  servants  lived  in  a  kind  of  patriarchal  sim- 
plicity under  their  noble  master,  who  often  manifested  a  kindly 
interest  in  their  little  concerns  which  was  like  the  paternal  at- 
titude assumed  by  the  old  time  Southern  planter  of  the  better 
type  toward  his  dusky  household  servants.  Thus  in  addition 
to  the  wages  which  the  help  earned,  it  was  the  custom  in  many 
families  to  reward  this  or  that  servant  for  the  proper  or  pleasing 
manner  in  which  some  task  had  been  performed.  In  November 
of  1561  James  of  the  Kitchen  in  the  Bertie  household  was  given 
8.  d.  by  his  lord's  special  commandment  for  "well  dressing  my 

45  Undated  letter  in  Howard  Household  Boolcs,  558-560. 


38  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [312 

Lady's  dinner"; 46  while  in  February  of  the  same  year  the  fruit- 
ful industry  of  Mistress  Brodbank  was  gratefully  recompensed 
by  payment  to  her  of  3.  s :  4.  d.  She  was  in  her  line  a  triumph- 
ant domestic  Diana,  her  reward  being  for  ".  .  .  ketchinge 
of  forty-four  rattes  at  Valdey. " 47  A  lad  by  the  odd  name  of 
Braby,  a  hand  regularly  in  John  Howard's  (later  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk) household  ranks,  was  the  lucky  owner  of  a  like  quick  talent, 
which  adroitly  practiced  now  and  again,  netted  him  a  tidy  pit- 
tance. On  March  26th,  1483,  he  was  given  6.  d.  for  taking  thir- 
teen moles  in  one  day.48 

Frequently  this  same  nobleman  in  dealing  with  his  servants, 
was  generous  enough  to  give  them  a  bit  of  drink  money.  Partic- 
ularly was  he  apt  thus  to  remember  them  upon  the  fulfillment 
of  some  duty  or  mission.  Thus  Thomas  Seyneclow,  one  of  his 
trusted  servants,  while  he  was  in  London  one  day  in  August  of 
1482,  paid  for  some  things  for  Howard,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
list,  came  his  own  moist  "item"  —  "and  for  that  my  Lord  gaff 
him  to  drynk  4.  d.49  On  January  17th,  1483,  when  Howard 
settled  with  his  bailiff  and  his  wife,  for  their  terms  service,  he 
rewarded  that  official 's  better  half  with  8.  d.  to  drink,  in  addition 
to  the  price  of  her  gown,  a  customary  gift,  which  was  6.  s :  8.  d.50 

This  same  kindly  relationship  between  these  great  "potentes" 
and  their  "humiles"  in  these  little  home  worlds,  was  also  fostered 
by  another  practice  among  the  nobility  —  that  of  making  small 
money  gifts  personally,  or  through  the  hands  of  their  children,  to 
their  servants,  when  children  of  the  latter  were  christened.  On 
August  7th,  1482,  Lady  Howard  (Lord  John's  wife)  at  her 
country  place,  Stoke,  gave  20.  s.  ".  .  .  to  the  crystenyng  of 
mastyr  Gorge's  chylde,"  and  on  October  30th  of  the  same  year 
she  presented  30.  d.  to  "mastress  Graces  chyld  crystenenge. " 51 
In  November  of  1561  young  Mr.  Peregrine  and  Mistress  Susan 
Bertie  were  given  30.  s.  "To  the  christininge  of  Archenbaldes 
child  .  .  ."  24.  s.  of  which  went  directly  "to  the  christin- 
inge" and  the  remaining  6.  s.  to  the  nurse  and  mid- wife.52  In 

46  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  463. 

47  Ibid.,  463. 

48 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  374. 

49 Ibid.,  284. 

so  Ibid.,  342-343.     There  are  scores  of  these  instances. 

&i Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  282,  318. 

52  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  465. 


313]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  39 

February  28th,  1591,  Elizabeth,  Cotmtess  of  Rutland  gave  22.  s : 
6.  d.  to  her  son  Francis  to  be  divided  similarly  at  the  christening 
of  the  son  of  young  Thomas  Fairbarne.53  Lord  North  at  Kirt- 
ling,  once  stood  God-father  to  one  of  his  retainer's  children; 
again  he  gave  10.  s.  to  the  marriage  of  one  of  his  servants,  and 
still  again  he  presented  the  quite  handsome  sum  of  53.  s :  4.  d.  to 
the  christening  of  a  child  of  one  of  the  household  men.54 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  had  a  well  systematized 
household  reward  bureau,  and  while  a  part  of  the  payments  dis- 
bursed from  its  appropriations  were  like  wages,  others  appear  as 
surely  to  have  been  special  rewards.  It  was  his  custom,  for  in- 
stance, when  he  was  at  home  and  "kept  Chapel"  to  give  his  little 
singers  6.  s:  8.  d.  ".  .  .  when  they  doo  synge  the  Responde 
callede  Exaudivi  at  the  Matyns-tyme  for  xjm  (11000)  Virgyns 
uppon  Alhallow-day. ' ' 55  Other  houses  observed  similar  prac- 
tices. In  1469  George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  laid  down  a  regulation 
for  the  fair  distribution  of  rewards  in  his  household.  The  rule 
applied  to  the  entire  house,  and  provided  that  every  such  gift 
was  to  be  gauged  according  to  the  degree  of  the  servant  in  ques- 
tion. On  such  days  when  rewards  were  presented  to  all  in  the 
service,  these  were  to  be  paid  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  and  the 
Marshal  of  the  Hall  for  the  time  being,  which  officers  were  to  see 
to  it  that  all  household  men  absent  about  the  business  of  the  duke 
during  the  distribution,  received  their  rewards  as  though  they 
were  present  in  person,58  and  he  ".  .  .  appoynted  that  all 
ladyes,  gentylwomen,  and  chamberers,  attending  uppon  the  .  .  . 
Duchesse,  take  suche  fees,  rewardes,  and  clothinge,  as  shall  please 
the  Duchesse."67 

In  1561,  rewards  of  this  sort,  paid  in  the  household  of  Edward 
Earl  of  Derby  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  the  Receiver-General 
and  the  Steward  amounted  to  £37 : 10 : 1  in  the  course  of  that 
year.58 

Unfortunately  there  was  on  the  side  of  either  party  in  each 
household  a  rank  taint  of  hypocritical  casuistry  coloring  this 
practice,  which  deprived  it  of  all  spontaniety  and  true  grace. 

ss  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  401. 

E*  Household  books  (selections),  Archaeologia,  XIX,  291  seq. 

ss  Northumberland  Household  Book,  342-343. 

58  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  92. 

57  Ibid.,  94. 

88  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  4. 


40  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [314 

Its  genuine  leit-motif  was  invariably  a  sordid  quid  pro  quo  —  a 
literal  interpretation  of  the  ''Golden"  rule.  Bra th wait  bluntly 
speaks  of  the  custom  in  connection  with  that  industry  which  all 
servants,  but  here  especially  gardeners  should  practice:  "The 
garden,"  he  notes,  "being  a  place  not  onely  pleasant,  but  also 
profitable ;  if  the  Earle  and  Ladie  often  goe  into  it,  and  finding 
things  well,  he  will  commend  the  gardiners,  and  sometimes  giving 
them  mony  will  encourage  them  to  more  paines :  but  if  they  finde 
matters  otherwise,  to  tell  them  roundely  of  it  they  will  not 
spare."59 

James,  7th  Earl  of  Derby  prescribed  nicely  calculated  re- 
warding :  "I  would  as  much  as  in  me  lay  keep  my  own  cash,  so 
shall  I  better  husband  it,  knowing  on  what  occasions  I  part  with 
[it]  ;  and  as  it  is  a  custom  sometimes  to  reward  good  servants, 
consider  well  before  you  give,  what  it  is,  to  whom,  and  for  what, 
for  certainly  when  you  give  to  a  good  man  (because  he  is  good) 
it  is  likely  to  keep  him  so,  and  make  others  good  from  the  ex- 
ample." On  another  occasion  he  told  his  son  also,  that  "The 
Duke  of  Buckingham  was  used  to  reward  his  worst  Servants 
first.  And,  being  asked  the  Keason,  he  sayd,  thereby  he  was 
sooner  rid  of  them ;  the  others  would  easilier  abide  in  hope. ' ' 60 
He  was  not  willing  to  vouch  for  the  worth  of  such  a  rule  however. 

It  was  the  9th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  though,  who  gave 
his  son  the  most  unblushing  exposition  of  this  metallic  for  value 
received  policy :  ' '  For  I  say,  not  to  give  succor  and  relief e  after 
that  proportion  yow  are  able,  out  of  yowr  fortuns  to  sutche  as 
waste  there  tyme  in  yowr  business,  is  inhumanitie  and  dishonor- 
able ;  .  .  . "  That  sounds  well,  but  its  frank  humanitarianism 
loses  its  forcefulness  when  coupled  with  its  defensive  corollary: 
".  .  .  and  for  them  to  gaine  by  deceite  from  yow  [that] 
whiche  is  not  fitt  for  yow  to  give,  is  wickednes  in  them,  and  folly 
in  yow  to  lett  goe :  whereas,  using  the  contrary,  yow  shall  be  able 
to  give  more  with  lesse  losse  to  yowr  selfe,  and  they  prove  to 
gaine  more  in  the  ende  with  more  honesty  to  them  self es. ' ' 

He  subsequently  develops  this  same  theme  in  a  very  interesting 
manner.  It  smacks,  for  all  the  world  like  a  domestic  brand  of 
the  dagger-jabbing  statesmanship  which  that  most  misunderstood 

59  Brathwaite,  40. 

GO  Advice  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Part  3,  3,  36,  46. 


315]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  41 

and  most  abused  of  men,  Nicolo  Machiavelli  whispered  into  the 
slow  ear  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici :  "To  procede  with  my  third  rule, 
wherein  you  are  willed  to  be  the  giver  of  yowr  owen  guifts,  with- 
out the  intercession  or  distribution  of  it  by  others,  is  but  to  make 
yow  master  of  yowr  owen,  as  it  hathe  bene  desired  in  the  former 
principells.  This  will  not  doe  it  alone,  but  will  give  a  helpe  to 
the  worke,  not  ayming  to  perswade  yow  to  give  lyke  a  God,  that 
looketh  for  nothing  back  againe ;  nor  by  the  strict  rules  of  vertu, 
that  must  give  only  for  vertues  sake.  My  rules  shall  tend  to 
give  as  one  that  expecteth  a  returne  againe  from  them,  ether  out 
of  obedience  to  yowr  person  or  care  of  yowr  profitt ;  or  love  with 
integrite ;  or  to  ease  yow  of  somme  labors  yow  cannot  well  under- 
goe ;  or  to  be  a  diligent  watche,  least  snares  may  be  laid  for  yow ; 
and  lastely,  to  bind  yowr  dependents  Avithout  flitting,  that  every 
day  yow  be  not  pute  to  study  new  men,  new  humors,  new  affec- 
tions. If  there  be  any  judieiall  considerations  in  well-carrying 
the  former  precepts,  in  this  there  is  a  farre  greater  master  worke ; 
for,  credit  me,  to  give  well  and  advantagiously  will  aske  a  great 
deal  of  art :  but  how  to  give,  that  yow  may  have  the  thanks  (since 
it  is  yow  that  must  part  with  the  benefitt),  in  it  lyeth  the 
mistery. ' ' 61 

This  is  of  the  earth,  earthy.  It  has,  however,  the  virtue  of 
honesty,  and  as  one  reads  it  he  feels  a  guilty  relief  in  thinking 
that  circumstances  do  not  compel  him  to  tear  down  the  finely 
spun  webs  of  sophistry  which  handsomely  veil  the  naked  de- 
formity of  his  real  purposes.  Which  of  us  could  dwell  openly 
undisgraced  in  the  Palace  of  Truth  without  the  magic  casket ! 

It  is  encouraging  on  turning  from  these  selfish  practices,  to 
discover  others  of  a  genuinely  altruistic  fibre  which  plainly 
assert  that  many  times  these  English  noblemen  looked  further 
than  the  petty  advantaging  of  self  in  dealing  with  their  servants. 
Good  old  Brathwait  assures  us  of  one  such  pleasant  habit:  It 
was  formerly  the  custom,  says  he,  for  Earls  to  ".  .  .  ap- 
pointe  their  cheefe  Officers  to  spy  out  when  any  rich  widdow,  or 
Farmers  daughter  that  had  no  brother,  that  were  his  tennants, 
chanced  to  be  in  any  Mannors  or  Lordshipps  of  his,  that  they 
might  be  wives  to  such  of  his  servantes  as  for  their  true  and 
painefull  service  deserved  to  be  preferred,  that  when  by  age  or 

ei  Advice  to  his  son,  Archafologla,  XXVII,  317  et  seq. 


42  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [316 

other  infirmities  they  did  grow  increpite,  they  should  not  he 
destitute  of  a  dwelling  place.  .  ."  This  might  have  entailed 
real  sacrifice,  for  as  Brathwait  goes  on  to  say,  some  of  the  nobles 
in  his  day  were  so  needy  that  when  any  farm  "fell"  they  had 
perforce  to  prefer  him  who  would  pay  most.62 

In  other  ways,  too,  did  noblemen  show  a  real  material  gener- 
osity, for  while  it  is  apparent  in  some  households  at  least,  that 
the  services  of  little  children  were  hired  because  they  were  cheap- 
er,63 on  the  other  hand  a  fatherly  interest  was  often  taken  in  the 
material  and  intellectual  welfare  of  these  little  folk.  In  the 
Bertie  household  there  lived  a  group  of  twelve  youngsters,  in- 
cluding the  two  children  of  the  family.  They  were  called  the 
"children  of  honour,"  and  while  it  is  not  clear  that  these  were 
some  of  the  same  little  people  serving  in  the  kitchen  and  the 
other  usual  places  where  children  were  to  be  found  in  such  an 
establishment,  yet  one  of  the  boys  was  called  "William  the 
Lackey,"  and  it  is  probable  enough  that  they  were  all  in  office. 
There  was  one  little  girl,  Anne  Gannocke,  perhaps  the  running 
mate  for  little  Susie  Bertie.  All  must  have  been  children  of 
promise,  both  from  the  name  given  them,  and  because  the  family 
youth  were  associated  with  them ;  be  that  as  it  may,  however,  all 
were  provided  with  clothing;  toys  were  from  time  to  time  pur- 
chased for  various  ones  of  the  group ;  while,  best  of  all,  a  master 
was  regularly  paid  for  instructing  three  of  the  boys,  and  school 
gear  like  ink  and  pens  was  paid  for  in  their  names : 

"March  1561  'For  2  payer  of  shooes  for  Mr.  Peregrine,  a 
payer  for  Mistress  Suzan,  and  a  payer  for  Rychard  Hall,  at  7d 
the  payer,  and  Rychard  Hall's  at  8.  d.'  2s.  5d." 

"December,  'For  two  yardes  and  a  quarter  of  friseado  at  Ss 
the  yarde'  for  coats  for  the  two  Georges." 

' '  September,  '  For  8  payer  of  knitt  hose  for  the  children. '  ! 

"November,  'For  a  penne  and  inke  for  John  Jeny,  and  for 
quilles  for  the  Georges  9d. '  " 

62  Brathwait,    32-33.     The   cruel,   hard-fisted   economy   of   the   house   of 
Cornleigh  Cornleigh  was  directly  descended  from  this  early  practice,  I  sup- 
pose.    See  E.  Jefferies,  The  Dewy  Morn. 

63  John  Howard  to  his  Steward:     ".     .     .     also  I  wold  my  pastores  wer 
wel  stored  wethe  katel,  and  a  Man  that  schold  kepe  them  myte  hoder  wyl 
helpe  to  dreve  the  karte,  and  so  wethe  helpe  of  chelderen  the  fewer  men 
myte  serve;     .     .     ."    Household  BooJcs,  558-560. 


317]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  43 

"Oct.  'To  Mr.  Worthington  in  part  payment  for  the  "borde 
and  scolinge  of  Richard  Hall,  John  Turpin  and  Anthony  Black- 
borne  20s."  '" 

"April,  1562,  "To  Mr.  Worthington  for  the  borde  and  skoleing 
of  Rycharde  Hall,  John  Turpine  and  Anthony  Blackborne,  for 
one  halfe  yeare  endid  at  Maie  dale  next,  after  £5  the  yeare  for 
ether  of  them  "£7:10s."  "More  for  Richard  Turpine,  after 
£4  the  year,"  40 :s.'  " 

"May,  1562  'Paid  for  bowes  and  arrowes  for  George  Sebas- 
tian' 6s." 

"June,  1562  'Paid  for  2  gramer  bookes  for  the  children,' 
2.s."64 

Lord  Willoughby  sought  the  intellectual  welfare  of  his  little 
servitors  constantly.  Even  when  he  was  at  the  head  of  the 
English  forces  in  the  Netherlands,  in  those  trying  years  1588- 
1589,  enduring  all  the  pitiful  hardships  which  Elizabeth's  hesi- 
tating, niggardly  policy  caused,  he  bore  in  mind  the  education 
of  his  pages,  nay,  on  one  occasion,  made  it  a  matter  for  diplo- 
matic correspondence  even.  On  March  10th,  1589,  he  writes 
from  Middelbourgh  to  M.  Mondragon,  Governor  of  the  Citadel 
of  Antwerp,  regarding  the  ransom  of  prisoners,  and  ends  his 
communication  in  this  wise: 

"Meanwhile,  I  would  recall  to  your  memory,  that  when  I  was 
Governor  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  there  fell  into  my  hands  one  Pierre 
le  Espagnol,  whom,  although  he  was  200  florins  short  in  his  ran- 
som, I  released  upon  your  word.  Now,  some  month  ago,  I  sum- 
moned from  England  a  certain  poor  schoolmaster,  to  teach  my 
pages,  and  on  his  way  hither  he  was  taken  on  the  coasts  of 
Flanders  and  carried  to  Dunkirk,  where  he  is  still  a  prisoner. 
I  pray  you  therefore  to  send  him  to  me,  in  recompense  for  the 
two  hundred  florins. ' ' 65 

Other  noblemen  were  thoughtful  in  this  important  respect 
also.  It  was  no  doubt  to  this  same  worthy  end,  at  least  in  part, 
that  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  maintained  a  school-house 
in  his  castle  of  Leckinfield;  from  Allhallows  to  Lady-day,  one 
peck  of  coals  daily  was  delivered  to  it,  and  one  of  the  eleven 
priests  in  the  household,  who  was  a  Master  of  Grammar,  was 
paid  the  quite  munificent  salary  of  100s  per  quarter,  for  his  ser- 

e*  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  462. 
es  Ibid.,  263. 


44  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [318 

vices;  furthermore,  he  had  a  servant  assigned  to  him,  who  was 
usher  in  the  school.66 

ea  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  44,  47,  100,  323.  It  is  possible  that 
Lord  John  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  went  even  further  than  this;  he  cer- 
tainly aided  in  the  maintenance  of  one  or  two  boys  at  Cambridge,  as  the 
following  entries  in  his  household  accounts  show,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  fortunate  young  men  had  been  in  his  household,  or  were  to  fill  stations 
there  later. 

August,  21st  Edward  4th.  "Maister  Perfoote,  for  the  childe  at  Cam- 
brigge.  Item,  my  Lord  toke  him  upon  rekenyng  for  the  childe  xxvj.s. 
viij.d." 

22nd  Edward  4th,  January  4th.  "Item,  ...  I,  Dalamar  [one  of 
Howard's  servants]  toke  to  Maister  Archer  upon  rekenyng  of  the  kepyng 
of  my  Lordes  children  at  Cambrygge  xiij.s.  iiij.d. "  [In  Howard's  hand, 
in  margin  of  the  MS.,  "lytel  Berweke."] 

"Item,  to  the  childe  to  go  to  Cambrygge  iiij.d." 

22nd  Edward  4th,  April  2nd.  "Maister  Archer  Item,  to  hym  upon 
rekning  of  the  childe  of  the  Hieth  fyndyng  at  Cambrygge  xiij.s.  iiij.d.  So 
he  hath  had  xxvj.s.  viij.d. " 

"Item,  the  same  day  (June  16th,  22nd  Edward  4th)  my  Lord  toke  a 
man,  callyd  John  Latoune,  of  Cambrige,  to  take  master  Barfote  iij.s. 
iiij.d." 

"Item,  the  same  yer,  and  the  xx.  day  of  June,  my  Lord  gaff  to  the  same 
John  Latowne  for  his  costes  from  Cambregge  to  Foderyngey,  and  to  brynge 
the  chylde  from  thens  to  Stoke  vj.s.  viij.d." 

"Bradfeld.  And  wher  my  Lord  fyndyth  young  Bradfeld  at  Cambrige  to 
scole,  which  begun  att  Crystmass  the  xxj.  yer  of  the  kyng,  he  hathe  been 
ther  half  a  yer  at  this  last  Midsomer,  the  xxij.  yer  of  the  kyng,  for  the  which 
my  Lord  rec.  the  same  yer,  and  the  vj.  day  of  July,  of  Jhon  Bradffeld,  the 
younger,  for  his  parte  of  the  fyndyng  of  the  said  childe  for  half  yer  xiij.s. 
iiij.d." 

"Mastr  Barfott.  Item,  the  xviij.  day  of  Octobre,  (22nd.  Ed.  4th.)  my 
Lord  paied  to  Mast1"  Barfot  for  his  ij.  chyldre  that  he  fyndyth  at  Cam- 
brege  v.li.  xj.s.  j.d." 

"Archer.  The  vj.  day  of  Jenever  (22nd.  Ed.  4th.)  my  Lord  paid  to 
mastr  Archer,  Master  of  Arte  at  Sudbury,  for  a  childe  that  my  Lord 
feyndeth  att  Cambryge,  callyd  Rychard  Beryffe,  which  came  in  att  myd- 
somer;  and  my  Lord  payth  for  halfe  his  fyndyng  a  yere  xxvj.s.  viij.d.; 
which  xxvj.s.  viij.d.  my  Lord  paid  hym,  as  hit  ys  afor  rehersed,  and  so  he 
ya  paid  tell  mydsomer  next  eometh." 

"Bradffeld  of  Hythe.  Item,  the  xv.  day,  (Jan.  22nd  Ed.  4th.)  my  Lord 
rec.  of  Bradfelde,  at  the  Hythe,  (an  ordinary)  for  the  fyndyng  of  the 
childe  at  Cambryge  xiij.s.  iiij.d." 

"Young  Bradffeld.  Item,  the  same  day,  (21st  March,  23rd  Ed.  4th) 
my  Lord  resseyved  of  young  Bradffeld  for  the  chyldes  fyndyng  at  Cam- 
brege,  be  the  handes  of  Stephyn  Howyth  vj.s.  viij.d." 

"Bendysh.     Item,  the  v.  day  of  Aprill,  (23rd.  Ed.  4th.)  my  Lord  alowed 


319]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  45 

Business  like  as  these  and  similar  customs  at  times  were,  other 
more  exact  relationships  were  established  between  a  noble  lord 
and  his  servitors  through  the  practices  in  vogue  for  hiring  and 
remunerating  servants.  Despite  the  presence  of  responsible  offi- 
cers in  a  household,  few  if  any  of  the  nobility  allowed  the  many 
duties  connected  with  hiring  and  paying  servants  to  get  beyond 
their  own  ken,  and  this,  after  all,  is  the  best  commentary  on  the 
importance  of  the  servant  problem  in  their  eyes. 

In  1512,  Northumberland's  household  numbered  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  people,  as  before  related.  The  membership  was 
supposed  to  be  maintained  at  this  status  also,  as  decided  by  the 
Earl  Percy  and  his  council  at  his  castle  of  Wressil  in  the  afore- 
said year.67  If  at  any  time  the  regular  list  of  servants  was  not 
full,  then  the  chief  officers  in  charge  of  the  house  were  to  inform 
the  earl,  so  that  he  could  alter  the  check-roll,  or  fill  up  the  va- 
cancies in  it,  either,  as  he  thought  best.08 

The  control  of  this  detail  was  very  elaborate.  Northumber- 
land had  of  course,  his  year's  check-roll  of  the  household,  family 
and  servants.69  He  had  in  addition  what  was  called  the  quarter 
check-roll,  on  which  were  the  names  of  all  in  the  house  present 
for  that  particular  quarter,  together  with  the  wages  of  each  ser- 
vant on  duty.70  This  had  to  be  made  out  regularly  for  each  quar- 

Willm  Ferth,  of  Hadleyth,  for  Bendysh  sone,  to  fynde  hym  at  skole  at 
Cambrege  xxvj.s.  viij.d." 

"Mastr  Stokes.  Item,  the  xxiij.  yere  of  the  kynge,  and  the  v.  day  of 
Aprill,  my  Lord  delivered  to  mastr  Stokes  a  sygnement  to  Geffrey  Bledwell, 
for  to  resseyve  of  hym  uppon  v.  markes  that  my  Lord  geveff  hym  yerly  to 
his  skole  ward,  for  the  terme  of  Ester  last  past  xl.s.  And  so  he  is  content 
unto  the  said  Ester,  and  more  to  the  summa  of  vj.s.  viij.d." 

"M.  Berfotte.  And  the  same  day,  and  the  first  yere  of  the  kyng  (Sat. 
Oct.  4th,  1st,  Ei.  3rd.)  my  Lord  rekyned  with  mastr  Barfote  for  his  childe 
at  Cambryge,  callid  Willm  Marche,  and  wher  he  axsyth  for  a  xij.  monthe 
for  the  said  childe,  at  hit  a  pereth  be  his  bill  more  playnlyar  un  to  Myel- 
messe  last  past  v.li.xj.s.  x.d. :  and  for  tother  chylde  callid  Barfelde  for  a 
yere  un  to  the  said  Myelmesse  a  bove  wretyn  iij.li.  xiiij.s.  vij.d. ;  which 
drawith  ix.li.  vj.s.  v.d.,  my  Lorde  hathe  delyverd  the  said  Master  Barffote 
a  syngment  to  yong  Jhon  Reynfford  to  rec.  of  hym  the  said  ix.li.  vj.s.  v.d.; 
and  so  he  ys,  all  thynges  rekyned,  content  un  to  the  said  Myelmesse  a  boffe 
wretyn  for  all  that  he  can  ax."  See  Howard  Houselwld  Books  (Collier), 
99,  147,  149,  178,  207,  214,  300,  337-338,  341,  371,  379,  380,  467-468. 

67  Northumberland  Household  BooTc}  46. 

68/6id.,  46. 

69/btd.,  235. 

TO  Hid.,  64. 


46  THE  HOUSEHOLD   OP  A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN  [320 

ter,  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  or  the  Clerk  of  the  Brevements 
or  accounts,  and  handed  in  a  senet  (fourteen  days)  before  each 
quarter  day,  so  that  his  lordship  could  look  it  over,  correct  it, 
have  it  made  up  and  sign  it  before  the  end  of  that  quarter.  If 
amending  had  to  be  done,  the  necessary  information  therefor 
was  contained  in  four  distinct  bills,  which  were  filled  out  and 
handed  in  at  the  same  time  by  the  above-mentioned  officers.  One 
had  to  contain  the  names  of  persons  who  had  quit  service  during 
the  quarter,  what  their  places  were  and  what  wages  they  had 
drawn.  The  second  was  a  bill  of  the  ".  .  .  rowmes  in  the 
Chequirerolle  that  laks  Persons  in  theme  accordynge  to  the  Ordor 
of  the  Chequirerolle  .  .  . "  that  is,  the  official  list  of  servants.71 
At  first  glance  one  of  these  two  bills  seems  superfluous.  In  real- 
ity both  appear  to  have  been  needed.  It  might  have  been  that 
at  some  quarter  certain  vacancies  in  the  roll  were  allowed  to 
stand;  such  would  be  recalled  to  the  earl's  attention  each  new 
quarter  by  the  rooms  bill,  when  he  could  thereupon  do  his  pleas- 
ure in  regard  to  them.  This  was  quite  a  different  matter  from 
a  fresh  vacancy. 

The  two  other  bills  had  likewise  to  be  made  out  each  quarter. 
One  contained  the  names  of  all  the  people  in  the  household  not 
in  office,  and  the  reasons  why  they  were  there,  so  that  the  earl 
could  decide  whether  to  put  them  into  service  ".  .  .  or  ells 
to  cause  theme  to  departe  owte  of  the  house,  .  .  ."  In  the 
other  were  listed  the  names  of  all  in  a  particular  office  above  the 
number  provided  for  it  in  the  official  roll,  and  the  reasons  why. 
All  four  of  these  bills  had  to  be  signed  by  the  earl  himself.72 

The  servants  in  control  of  this  detail  were  supplied  with  a 
formula  for  each  bill,  worked  out  by  Northumberland  with  the 
help  of  his  council.  The  following  is  the  style  of  the  rooms 
bill :  ' '  THIS  IS  THE  BILL  of  the  Names  of  the  PARSONNE S 
That  wantes  in  the  ROWMES  in  the  Chequirroill  made  at 
Michaelmas  in  th'  Eight  Yeir  of  the  Reigne  of  our  Sovereigne 
Lorde  Kinge  Henry  the  viijth  That  shulde  fulfill  the  Hoole 
Noumbre  appointed  that  my  Lorde  shulde  keip  in  his  Hous  for 
an  Hoole  Yeir  AS  the  Names  of  the  saide  Parsonnes  Ande  what 
Parsonnes  they  be  Ande  in  what  Rowmes  they  waite  in  my  saide 

71  Northumberland  Household  Book,  70. 

72  Ibid.,  70-71,  and  267. 


321]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  47 

Lordes  Hous  Hereaftir  f ollowithe  -in  this  Bill  Signide  with  my 
Lordes  Hande. ' ' 73 

Once  a  new  servant  were  chosen  for  duty  his  lordship  sought 
further  to  insure  himself  by  insisting  upon  the  administration  of 
an  oath  of  office.  Thus  it  was  provided  ".  .  .  that  what 
Person  somevir  he  be  that  cummeth  to  my  Lordes  Service  That 
incontinent  after  he  be  enterede  in  the  Chequirroill  that  he  be 
sworne  in  the  Counting-hous  by  a  Gentleman  Usher  or  a  Yeoman 
Usher  in  the  presence  of  a  Hede  Officer  Ande  in  their  absence 
befoire  the  Clarke  of  the  Kitching  Aither  by  suche  an  Oithe  as 
in  the  Book  of  Oithes  if  any  suche  be  Or  ellis  by  suche  an  Oithe 
as  they  schal  seam  best  by  their  Digressions. ' ' 74 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  affirm  that  so  elaborate  a  system  as 
was  here  in  operation  was  used  all  over  by  the  nobles;  but  the 
same  purpose  was  worked  out  all  over.  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby, 
had  his  check-roll  which  was  ".  .  .  to  be  sett  downe  onder 
my  L.  his  hande  of  the  names  and  nomber  of  his  L.  S  Vantes  gen- 
erallie  to  be  allowed  in  his  L.  house."  His  lordship  was  to  be 
closely  aware  of  any  substitution  in  office,  for  which  his  license 
or  the  permit  of  the  chief  officers  had  to  be  given.  He  main- 
tained the  usual  dependence  of  all  the  lower  servants  on  the 
principal  officers  in  the  establishment.75  There  was  no  hiring  of 
servants  without  the  knowledge  of  the  master  therefore,  and  this 
was  probably  universally  understood  in  households  at  large. 

Many  nobles  went  much  farther  than  this,  and  assumed  a  di- 
rect share  in  the  actual  process  of  engaging  their  help.  The  9th 
Earl  of  Northumberland  tells  his  son  how  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  he  at  first  chose  " .  .  .  yong,  handsomme,  brave,  swag- 
gering, debaucht,  wilde,  servants  .  .  ."  who  abetted  his  wild 
desires,  etc.76  James,  7th  Earl  of  Derby,  says  that  he  would  not 
hire  a  servant  who  was  either  a  Puritan  or  a  Jesuit,  nor  would 
he  willingly  take  on  a  musician  (I  .suppose  one  who  could  play 
but  did  not  do  so  by  profession).  Again  he  remarks:  ''It  is 
very  handsome  to  have  comely  men  to  serve  you,"  and  advises 
against  married  help,  as  it  necessitated  keeping  the  children  like- 

73  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  267-268. 
7*  Ibid.,  258. 

75  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  20. 

76  Advice  to  his  son,  Archacologia,  XXVII,  323. 


48  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [322 

wise  —  all  servant  requisites  scarcely  to  be  left  to  the  decision  of 
a  proxy.  But  the  earl,  further  assuring  his  son  against  all  pit- 
falls says :  ' '  For  the  first  Conjecture  one  usually  will  give  of  a 
great  Man  &  of  his  Understanding,  is,  upon  Sight  of  his  Follow- 
ers &  Servants,  whether  they  be  able  &  faithful.  For  then  he  is 
reputed  wise,  as  having  Knowledge  to  discern.  I  know  many 
great  Families  of  ENGLAND  ruin  'd,  that  when  I  have  asked  the 
Reason,  usually  the  Answer  was,  'In  good  Fayth  it  is  a  great 
Pitty  —  he  is  well  borne  —  hath  had  many  gallant  Gentlemen  of 
his  owne  Name  —  He  himself  is  an  honest  Gentleman  —  very 
kind-natur'd,  &  very  liberall  —  But  he  hath  ill  Servants.'  He 
might  as  well  have  said  in  short,  his  Lordship  is  a  very  Foole,  & 
his  Men  be  Knaves. ' ' 77  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  7th  Earl 
of  Derby  picked  out  his  servitors ! 

Lord  John  Howard,  who  became  Duke  of  Norfolk  in  June  of 
1483,  and  who  was  not  least  among  the  nobles  of  his  day,  often 
made  it  a  practice  to  represent  in  person  his  side  of  the  contract 
when  new  hands  were  taken  on  at  Stoke.  This  was  the  case 
whether  the  help  were  for  some  specified  job  on  one  of  his 
places,  or  for  the  regular  household  service.  This  nobleman's 
custom,  and  probably  the  English  wide  manner  of  the  time,  was 
to  dicker  out  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  and  set  them  down  in 
a  formal  statement,  a  veritable  indenture,  such  as  the  king  him- 
self used  when  he  bargained  with  noblemen,  say,  for  military 
service.  Such  a  pact  must  have  assumed  an  awful  sanctity  in 
the  eyes  of  the  domestic  hireling  or  else  the  common  ground  be- 
tween the  high  and  mighty  and  the  work-a-day  folk  in  their  em- 
ploy was  much  commoner  than  is  perhaps  understood. 

The  dates  and  terms  of  the  service  were  always  specified  and 
the  agreement  was  generally,  clinched,  as  were  all  such  bargains 
then,  apparently,  with  a  pittance  from  Howard  to  his  new  man, 
as  earnest  of  his  sincerity:  "The  xxx.  day  of  Jewen,  (22d,  Ed- 
ward 4th)  I  mad  konante  wethe  John  Braby,  that  he  schal  serve 
me  frome  hower  Lady  day  of  Sanesyon  nexte  comhenge  to  that 
day  xij  monthe,  and  he  to  have  fore  is  serves  be  the  yere  xl.s. 
And  a  gowen,  and  he  to  fynde  hemeselfe  bedeng;  and  I  gafe 
heme  in  erneste  xij.d.  "78 

"  Letter  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  3,  3,  11-12. 
78 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  211. 


323]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  49 

Howard  used  exactly  this  same  detail  in  hiring  some  of  his 
more  important  servants.  On  January  11,  1482,  he  personally 
made  covenant  with  Sir  John  Leonas  of  Hadley  for  a  year's  ser- 
vice at  five  marks,  and  his  lordship  gave  Sir  John  thereupon 
12.d.  in  earnest.79  Howard  sometimes  allowed  his  Steward  to 
take  on  a  new  man,  probably  when  the  new-comer  was  for  his  de- 
partment. On  August  10,  1482,  the  Steward,  Blyant,  agreed 
with  John  Baker  for  his  services  from  Mid-summer  to  Michael- 
mas, and  the  latter  received  that  Saturday  2.s.80  This  form  for 
hiring  help  was  also  in  use  on  the  Bertie  estates ;  thus  in  April 
of  1561,  41/£.d.  was  paid  "to  Philip  Handon  the  gardiner,  to 
bynde  him  for  a  yeare  to  be  servante. ' ' 81 

Naturally  it  was  eminently  necessary  for  a  nobleman  to  ap- 
point his  officers  of  household.  This  was  formally  done  by 
granting  to  such  men  patents  of  the  particular  positions  for 
which  they  were  chosen.  William  ffarington  held  his  office  of 
Steward  to  Earl  Henry  of  Derby  by  patent,82  and  his  Receiver- 
Generalship  under  that  earl's  successor,  the  Earl  Ferdinando, 
by  a  like  grant.83  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  spoke  of  his 
Surveyor  as  "promoted  by  patent,"84  and  of  his  Dean  of  the 
Chapel  and  his  council-men  as  drawing  a  certain  wage  by 
patent.85 

Wages  were  generally  reckoned  by  the  quarter  or  by  the  year, 
and  were  paid  according  to  the  custom  of  the  house,  quarterly, 
half-yearly,  or  yearly,  but  sometimes  with  the  greatest  irregu- 
larity. Northumberland  paid  the  large  body  of  his  servants 
half-yearly,85  but  the  wages  of  all  were  established  for  the  quar- 
ter.86 His  Chapel  men  were  regularly  paid  quarterly  and  so 
were  his  launderers.87  In  1523  Sir  Thomas  Lovell  paid  all  of 
his  hands  on  Michaelmas  for  the  year,88  but  the  Earls  of  Rutland 

79  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  150. 

so  Ibid.,  229. 

si  GrimstJiorpe  House  Papers,  464. 

82  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  xxxviii. 

ss  Ibid.,  Ixiii. 

s*  Northumberland  Household  Book,  47. 

ss  Ibid.,  47. 

85  Northumberland  Household  Book,  28. 

se  Ibid.,  50. 

si  Ibid.,  23,  27. 

ss  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  260  et  seq. 


50  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [324 

after  him  paid  quarterly.89  Lord  John  Howard  agrees  with  men 
for  their  services  from  such  and  such  a  quarter,  and  talks  about 
paying  servants  their  quarter's  wages,90  but  his  actual  payments 
were  most  irregular  and  hard  to  follow.  Occasionally  many  re- 
ceived pay  at  one  time,91  but  again  the  hire  was  doled  out  to  his 
servants  in  such  a  scattering  fashion  and  in  such  varying 
amounts  that  one  is  inclined  to  believe  that  his  Grace,  like  many 
before  and  since  his  day,  paid  up  when  he  had  the  money.92 

In  1469  the  Duke  of  Clarence  ordered  — "  ITEM,  That  all 
suche  persons  as  shalle  attend  aboute  the  said  Duke  be  in  a 
chekker  rolle  in  the  kepinge  of  the  clerke  of  the  averye ;  and  that 
every  squyer  of  housholde  have  viid.ob.  every  daye  that  he  wait- 
eth  in  the  courte;  every  yeoman  iiiid.  every  groome  iid.  every 
page  suche  wages  as  shalle  please  the  seid  Duke ;  and  the  seid 
wages  to  be  payed  quarterly  in  the  counting-house;  and  once 
clothinge;  and  also  rewardes  to  suche  as  be  moste  diligent,  hon- 
orable, and  profitable;  with  suche  preferment  as  accordeth  to 
theire  desertes. ' '  And  again  — ' '  ITEM,  That  all  suche  persons 
as  shalle  entend  aboute  the  Duchesse  be  at  wages  in  eertaine  by 
the  yeare,  and  paied  quarterly,  as  it  is  aforeseid;  beinge  in  a 
rolle  in  the  kepinge  of  the  clerke  of  the  kichyn,  or  elles  the  clerk 
of  the  stable. ' ' 93  Lord  "William  Howard  of  Naworth  was  at 
times,  it  seems,  in  arrears  with  his  wage  money,  though  equally 
it  appears  to  have  been  his  custom  to  establish  servant  hire  quar- 
terly and  yearly ;  thus  in  1612  part  of  his  wage  budget  reads  as 
follows:  "January.  —  To  Fergus,  for  one  quarter  due  at 
Christemas  last,  xs.  16.  To  Mrs  Jane  Slade,  for  half  a  yeare  due 
then,  iij11.  26.  To  Anthony  Yates,  for  one  quarter  due  at  Can- 
dellmas,  xvjs  viijd  Feb.  2.  To  Harry  Baker,  for  one  quarter  due 
at  Candellmas,  xxs,"94  etc. 

An  effort  was  made  to  avoid  complications  in  wage  reckoning 

89  Ibid.,  284  et  seq.,  296,  308,  319  et  seq.,  362. 

90  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  211  e.g. 

91  Ibid.,  375  et  seq. 

92 Ibid.  One  man  Benham,  for  example,  was  paid  as  follows:  1481  — 
Apr.  4th,  Aug.  22nd,  Aug.  28th,  Nov.  28th.  In  1483  —  Apr.  5th,  Apr.  25th, 
July  12th,  Aug.  10th,  Sept.  3rd,  Dec.  24th.  I  have  worked  out  four  or  five 
other  like  cases. 

93  Royal  Houselwld  Ordinances,  94. 

9*  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  17. 


325]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  51 

by  taking  on  help  at  the  regular  quarters.  These  were,  of  course, 
Michaelmas,  Christmas,  Lady-Day,  and  Mid-summer,  or  Saint 
John  Baptist.  The  covenants  Lord  John  Howard  made  with 
his  new  men  were  all,  as  above  noted,  effective  from  one  of  the 
quarters.95  He  had  a  man,  Webbe,  hired  from  Michaelmas, 
1481,  another,  Werwell,  from  Christmas,  three  others,  at  Easter, 
and  so  on.98  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  practiced  a  clever 
scheme  to  the  same  end.  It  certainly  was  not  always  practical 
or  possible  to  hire  help  only  on  a  quarter  day.  If  an  office  fell 
vacant,  it  probably  had  to  be  filled  at  once.  Northumberland, 
however,  laid  down  the  rule  that  if  a  new  hand  came  into  ser- 
vice, within  one  month  of  a  quarter  day,  on  either  side  of  it,  he 
must  "enter  wages"  as  the  term  went,  from  that  quarter,  while 
if  he  were  taken  on  at  any  time  more  than  one  month  from  a 
quarter,  his  pay  then  started  with  the  next  quarter ;  under  either 
of  these  conditions  a  man  might  be  compelled  to  work  for  some 
time  gratis,  but  the  earl  also  ruled  that  if  he  chose  to  do  so,  he 
might,  off-hand  as  it  were,  reward  such  a  one  for  service  thus 
rendered.97 

That  great  peer  was  nevertheless  as  accurate  a  paymaster  as 
any  present  day  manager  of  a  department  store  with  his  relent- 
less time-clock.  He  supplied  no  happy-go-lucky  fount  of  shil- 
lings and  pence  for  the  wayward  or  the  regular  absentee  among 
his  servants ;  no  work,  no  pay,  was  ever  his  steadfast  code.  Punc- 
tually at  every  half-year  must  his  charged  officials,  the  Clerk  of 
the  Kitchen  or  of  the  Brevements,  turn  in  a  bill,  wherein  were 
the  names  of  such  servants  as  had  absented  themselves  from  ser- 
vice without  a  license,  together  with  the  reasons  for  such  ab- 
sences, the  lengths  of  time  they  were  away  and  the  sums  that 
were  therefore  to  be  deducted  from  the  half-year's  wage  of  each. 
The  earl  took  care,  also,  to  duly  sign  this  bill.98  He  kept  a  like 
close  eye  on  the  goings-out  and  the  comings-in  of  his  Chapel  men, 
though  in  their  cases,  of  course,  the  bill  had  to  be  made  out  quar- 
terly.99 Again,  if  it  chanced  that  any  of  his  household  went 
with  their  master,  in  the  service  of  the  King  "beyond  the  seas," 

95  Vide  also  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  362,  382,  etc.,  etc. 

96  Ibid.,  362. 

97  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  46. 

98  Northumberland  Household  Book,  67. 

67. 


52  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [326 

they  received  no  household  wages  for  the  time  that  they  were 
absent,  since  they  were  then  in  the  sovereign's  hire.  The  ac- 
counting of  such  time  was  in  the  hands  of  the  same  metronomic 
officers  earlier  named.100 

Finally  it  remains  to  be  said  that  the  quarter  day  pay  system, 
if  rigidly  practiced,  often  entailed  hardship  on  various  of  the 
servants  who  must  needs  frequently  have  been  as  distracted  as 
the  down-at-heels  university  instructor  who  can  but  ill  span  the 
dreary  lenten  wastes  lying  between  his  thirty-day  microscopic 
budget  items,  and  under  the  circumstances,  they,  like  that  lean 
shadow  of  misery,  learned  to  deal  in  futures.  Thus  Lady  How- 
ard (Lord  John's  wife)  pays  Roger  of  the  wardrobe  3.s:4.d. 
on  his  wages  to  buy  "hosen."101  At  another  time  the  same 
kindness  is  extended  to  another  of  the  household  men,  Thomas 
Seyneclow,  "on  his  wage,"  whose  hosen,  too,  were  ill-timed  in 
mid-season  on  their  last  legs  !  102 

So  common  was  this  practice  in  the  Northumberland  house- 
hold that  it  developed  a  special  book-keeping  to  take  care  of  it. 
Each  quarter  when  pay-day  drew  near,  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen 
or  of  the  Brevements  had  to  call  on  the  Cofferer,  and  Clerk  of 
the  Treasury  —  fellow  officers,  for  the  bill  of  all  "prests  of 
wages"  which  had  been  paid  out  by  them  at  the  earl's  order  in 
part  payment  of  wages.  These  items  were  then  deducted  from 
the  amounts  otherwise  due  to  such  luckless  servants,  when  the 
wage  bill  was  duly  made  up  and  signed  by  Northumberland.103 

While  it  is  not  necessary  to  specify  the  rates  of  wages  paid  to 
servants,  it  may  be  intimated  that  the  gross  sums  thus  expended 
in  the  course  of  a  year  were  large,  and  formed  a  goodly  portion 
of  the  annual  household  expenditure.  In  1469,  George,  Duke  of 
Clarence,  paid  1099£  :l.s  :4d  for  servant  hire,  his  entire  running 
cost  for  the  year  being  4505£:15s:10d  and  eleven  twenty-fourths. 
So  closely  did  his  clerk  figure  !  104  Northumberland  's  hired  help 
cost  him  yearly,  at  the  rate  of  payment  adopted  in  1512,  189£: 
6s  :8d,  in  a  yearly  total  of  933£6s  :8d.105  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby, 


67. 

101  Howard  Household  BooTcs  (Collier),  317. 

102  ibid.,  192. 

103  Northumberland  Household  Book,  70-71. 
10*  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  104-105. 
105  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  28. 


327]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  53 

paid  299£:19s  to  servants  in  1561,  which  year  it  cost  him 
2895£  :6d  to  run  his  house ; 106  while  in  the  28th  year  of  Henry 
8th,  49£:8s:9d  was  the  quarter's  wage  paid  by  the  Earl  of  Rut- 
land to  his  servants.107 

Very  often  too,  in  looking  at  the  mere  money  item  one  has  but 
a  part  of  the  story  of  these  bargains  between  a  nobleman  and  his 
servants.  According  to  the  agreement,  when  a  servant  was 
hired,  perhaps  a  bit  of  the  money  he  received  was  swallowed  up 
in  some  trade  material  he  had  to  furnish,  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  was  allowed  so  much  wages,  and  so  much  cloth  or  clothing. 
Northumberland's  Armourer  received  four  marks  a  year  for 
taking  charge  of  the  earl's  "stuff,"  which  included  all  his  armor, 
and  the  man  was  to  furnish  ".  .  .  al  manar  of  stuf  for 
Clensynge  of  the  said  stuf. ' ' 108  His  arras  mender,  if  he  were  a 
groom  received  33s  :4d  a  year  in  wages,  and  20s  for  ".  .  . 
fyndyng  of  al  manar  of  stuf  belonging  to  his  facultie  except 
Silk  and  Golde.  .  ." 109  Each  butcher  in  this  same  household 
receiced  33s  :4d  a  year  if  he  were  a  yeoman,  and  if  a  groom,  20s 
and  was  ".  .  .  to  be  owte  of  Meit  and  Drynk  and  all  other 
charges  of  the  Hous."110  On  October  29,  1481,  Lord  John 
Howard's  Will  of  Bakehouse  was  paid  5s  in  cash  and  got  in  ad- 
dition two  yards  and  three-quarters  of  cloth.111  On  January 
18th,  of  the  next  year,  Agnes  of  the  chamber  received  5s  from 
Lady  Howard,  and  6s:8d  for  her  gown  —  announcing  herself  as 
satisfied  with  these  findings  of  the  year's  clearing-house.112  On 
November  19,  1482,  Lord  Howard  himself  delivered  to  Rose 
Delroy  on  her  wages  "a  plyth  and  a  half  of  lawn"  which  cost 
3s,  and  another,  to  Katherine  of  the  Chamber,  worth  2s.113 
Thomas  the  Harper  had  his  lyard  (grey)  gown  in  addition  to 
his  wages,  and  on  January  9,  1481,  6s:8d  was  laid  out  for  "2 
yerdes  of  narowe  cloth"  for  that  amiable  purpose.114 

Such  terms  as  these  were  always  found  right  in  the  agree- 

io6  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  5,  7. 
197  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  286. 
IDS  Northumberland  Household  Book,  48. 
loo/fttU,  48. 
noj&td.,  48. 

in  Howard  Household  Books,  125. 
ii27fcid.,  343. 
113  Ibid.,  319. 
149. 


54  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [328 

ments  made  with,  servants  when  they  were  hired.  On  January 
17th,  1483,  Lord  John  Howard  had  a  " reckoning"  as  he  always 
called  it,  with  his  Bailiff,  in  the  course  of  which,  it  was  made 
evident  that  that  servitor  had  come  to  him  the  year  before  at 
Candlemass,  and  had  agreed  by  covenant  to  serve  Howard  for 
40s  a  year  "for  hym  and  his  wyffe,  and  ther  clothyng"  —  fur- 
ther, this  year,  Howard  had  delivered  him  his  "gown  cloth" 
and  6s  :8d  to  his  wife  for  her  gown,  etc.115  On  March  8th  of  that 
same  year,  Lord  Howard  was  himself,  as  usual,  making  out  the 
terms  of  service  with  a  man,  and  the  bargain  was  concluded 
thus:  ".  .  .  that  he  shalbe  with  my  Lord  a  qrtr,  from  our 
Lady  day  next  comenge,  for  the  summa  of  xiij.s.  iiij.d.  And  so 
my  Lord  wull  geff  hym,  affter  that  qrtr,  for  a  yere  lenger,  affter 
the  same  wages,  and  a  gown."  116 

Once  in  a  while  the  wages  of  a  servant  seem  thoughtfully  to 
have  been  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  his  case ;  Northumber- 
land vouchsafes  the  half  apologetic  explanation  for  the  40s  a 
year  he  paid  to  each  of  his  footmen,  perhaps  to  protect  those  folk 
from  envious  fellow  servitors,  that  it  was  ".  .  .  bicause  of 
the  moch  "Werynge  of  his  stuf  with  labor."  117  Not  many  cases 
of  such,  sensible  solicitude  appear,  however. 

What  official  actually  attended  to  the  payment  of  the  house- 
hold wages  seems  to  have  depended  simply  on  individual  prac- 
tice. Northumberland's  Chamberlain  and  Treasurer,  who  in 
1512  were  respectively  Sir  John  Norton  and  Gefferay  Proctor, 
stood  charged  with  the  important  duty  that  year  in  his  house- 
hold ; 118  they  did  not,  however,  pay  the  quarterly  laundry  bill 
which  was  entrusted  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen.  In  1522  .Sir 
Thomas  Lovell's  Receivor  paid  the  servants'  wages,119  while  in 
1561  the  same  official  in  the  household  of  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby, 
handled  such  moneys  hi  part.120 

On  John  Howard's  estate  at  Stoke,  that  busy  lord  again  and 
again  took  upon  himself  this  business.  Apparently  he  did  not 
feel  it  beneath  his  duty  to  take  the  humblest  domestic  her  hire. 

"5  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  342-343. 

"6  Hid.,  362. 

117  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  48. 

us  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  27-28. 

119  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  260,  Hist.  Mss.  Com. 

120  Stanley  Papers,  PL  2,  5. 


329]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  55 

On  August  22,  1482,  he  paid  Agnes  the  chamberer  6s:8d  for 
wages.121  He  paid  the  mole-killer122  and  the  bird-taker,123  or 
the  beer  brewer,124  the  baker,  butcher 125  —  any,  in  fact,  working 
for  him.  If  it  chanced  that  his  lordship  were  away  from  home, 
which  was  frequently  the  case,  then  his  lady  might  assume  this 
work,  along  with  the  other  responsibilities  she  was  at  such  times 
wont  to  shoulder ;  nor  did  it  matter  to  her  into  what  department 
of  the  household  such  a  duty  carried  her.  Once  when  Howard 
was  in  London,  she  paid  18s  to  the  workmen,  who  were .  tile- 
makers,  carpenters,  plasterers  and  pond-makers,  together  with  3s 
to  one  Bakon  for  thrashing  out  nine  quarters  of  barley  and  oats, 
and  other  sums  to  carters,  the  smith  and  the  broom-maker.126  It 
was  quite  her  custom  to  pay  the  female  help  in  the  household 
also.127 

At  the  end  of  the  16th  century,  the  Steward,  of  the  officers  in 
the  household,  was  charged  with  paying  the  wages  of  the  ser- 
vants.128 This  may  have  been  a  custom  long  in  practice  too; 
thus  Lord  John  Howard's  Steward,  the  man  Blyant,  frequently 
paid  different  men  in  the  household  at  Stoke,  but  these  were  al- 
most always  hands  in  his  own  department.  In  September  of 
1481  he  paid  mowers.129  In  June  of  the  next  year,  mowers,  and 
''year  men"  (men  who  had  contracted  for  a  year's  service), 
while  in  October  of  1481  a  little  group  of  gleaners,  men  and 
women,  engaged  in  getting  in  the  after-math,  or  "rowin, "  were 
paid  by  Howard  through  his  Steward.130  Blyant  was  quite  apt 
to  pay  for  carting  and  hauling,131  for  smithy's  work,132,  carpen- 
ter hire,133  tilers,134  and  others.  Veiy  frequently,  however,  in 

121  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  99. 

122  ibid.,  374. 

123  Ibid.,  425. 

124J&UZ.,    176. 

125  ibid.,  176. 
i2«/&i<Z.,  184. 

127  Ibid.,  51,  108,  170,  173,  183,  284,  304,  etc. 

128  Breviate,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  316. 

129  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  114. 
iso  Ibid.,  119. 

isi  Ibid.,  174,  188  e.g. 

132  Ibid.,    185. 

133  ibid.,  198. 

is*  Ibid.,  198  (vide  also  207,  208,  212,  216,  225-226,  228-229,  290,  299, 
etc.) 


56  THE  HOUSEHOLD   OF  A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN  [330 

this  same  household,  other  men  assumed  responsibility  for  pay- 
ing servants  and  other  hired  help,  and  it  is  impossible  to  tell  who 
they  were.  One  such  man  was  called  Dalamar,135  while  another 
was  a  curious  factotum  by  the  name  of  Skynner,136  and  many 
times,  Giles  Seneclow,  or  his  brother  Thomas,137  who  largely 
wrote  up  the  household  books,  paid  the  servants  off. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  money  wages,  various  of  the  ser- 
vants in  every  household  received  either  certain  "fees"  as  the 
little  perquisites  of  their  offices  were  called,  or  their  equivalent 
in  money,  which  sums  were  likewise  known  as  fees.  The  list  of 
such  possible  fees  is  very  interesting.  It  was  strictly,  of  course, 
each  man  after  his  kind.  The  Yeomen  of  the  Horse  got  the  dis- 
carded saddles  and  bridles  of  the  Yeomen  and  Grooms  of  that  de- 
partment ;  while  the  Yeoman  Rider  had  his  own  played-out  equip- 
ment. To  the  Coachman  and  Waggoner  went  the  old  wagons, 
and  the  broken  wheels  of  both  wagons  and  coaches  which  had 
run  their  last  circuit;  the  Grooms  had  the  worn-out  horse  shoes 
and  the  stable  dung.  The  fees  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Kitchen  were 
calves'  and  lambs'  heads  and  skins.  When  gaming  or  "play" 
was  allowed  in  the  Hall,  the  Usher  and  Groom  of  the  Hall  had 
the  privilege  of  sharing  the  profit  of  the  '  '  box  "  ;  138  in  fact  two- 
thirds  of  its  contents  went  to  the  Usher,  and  the  remainder  to 
the  Groom;  the  same  was  done  with  rewards  given  in  the  Hall, 
"except  ther  be  several  givers  to  them."  The  Yeoman  Usher 
and  Groom  of  the  Great  Chamber  had  similarly  for  their  fees  the 
income  of  the  box  when  play  went  on  in  the  big  chamber  or  the 
dining  room,  each  man  receiving  half  ;  but  the  profits  of  the  box 
in  the  withdrawing  chamber  or  the  galleries  went  to  the  grooms 
of  the  bed-chambers,  a  part  of  whose  duties  it  was  "to  keepe 
faire  those  Roomes."  The  Yeoman  of  the  cellar  had  the  wine 
lees  and  the  empty  casks;  he  of  the  pantry,  the  bread  "chip- 
pings."139  The  Yeoman  of  the  ewery  got  the  candle  ends  and 


.,  100,  109,  etc. 
.,  211,  e.g. 

137  ibid.,  133,  282,  283,  287,  291,  320,  378,  390,  etc. 

iss  Could  this  mean  that  stakes  were  so  divided,  or  were  there  little 
charges  for  the  right  to  enter  the  game? 

*39  A  technical  term,  certain  bread  was  '  '  chipped  '  '  to  prepare  it  for  use. 
George,  Duke  of  Clarence  orders  —  "  .  .  .  no  loof  e  [of  bread]  to  be 
paired,  excepte  for  my  lorde  and  his  bourde,  all  other  looves  to  be  chipped 
.  .  .  "  —  Ordinances,  95. 


331]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  57 

parings,  while  in  the  kitchen  a  soggy,  swill-ripe  miscellany  of 
drippings,  skimmed  fat,  broken  bones,  necks,  giblets  and  feathers 
of  fowls,  together  with  rabbit  and  cony  skins,  went,  the  half  of  it 
to  the  Master  Cook,  his  first  assistant  being  allowed  also  a  pro- 
portionate share,  while  the  remainder  of  the  sorry  mess  was  to 
be  divided  among  the  young  cooks.  The  slaughterman  could 
lay  claim  to  the  heads  of  beeves,  minus  the  tongues,  and  to  the 
sheep's  heads  and  plucks.  The  baker's  fee  was  the  bran  which 
remained  after  he  and  the  groom  had  bolted  their  flour;  and 
finally,  the  brewers  had  the  ''grains  and  yeast"  (that  is  the 
malted  grain  after  it  had  been  used  in  the  brewing)  .14° 

These  droll  hack-ends  were  often  sold  by  the  servants;  Brath- 
wait  says:  ".  .  .  and  they  (the  yeoman  and  groom)  must 
sell  out  none  (bread-chippings)  vntill  they  have  bene  by  some 
of  them  (the  officers)  vewed;  .  .  ,"141  and  apparently  some 
of  the  houses  directly  bought  up  these  vales  for  home  use ;  thus 
"fees"  formed  quite  a  substantial  part  of  one  division  of  the 
gross  household  expenses  of  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby's  establish- 
ment, in  1561,  where  they  were  figured  on  a  money  basis: 
".  .  .  In  ffees  and  Wages  payd  by  the  Receiv'  w1  xiij11  vj8 
viijd  for  his  own  ffee  .  .  .  riiijx  j11  iiij8  ijd."142  In  the 
weekly  accounts  of  his  successor,  Henry,  so  many  pecks  of  ' '  chip- 
pings"  were  a  regular  item,  and  these  together  with  the  "broken 
beer"  fees,  the  earl,  in  1567,  forbade  both  the  Yeoman  of  the 
Pantry  and  his  butlers  to  sell ;  they  were  reserved  for  the  poor, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  yearly  auditing  of  the  accounts  those 
officers  were  given  30s  each  ' '  in  lue  thereof. ' ' 143 

In  the  household  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  this  reg- 
ulation was  established:  "ITEM  My  Lorde  useth  and  accus- 
tomyth  to  pay  yerly  owte  of  his  Lordships  Coffures  to  the  Yoman 
and  Grrome  of  his  Lordships  Pantre  Which  standith  chargede 
with  the  saide  Pantre  for  as  much  Chippings  of  Trencher-Brede 
and  other  Brede  of  ther  Vaillis  as  doith  serve  for  the  fedyinge 
of  my  Lords  Howndis  daily  thorow  owt  the  Yere  Ande  so  to  be 
paid  unto  them  for  that  cause  at  ij  tymes  of  the  Yere  Viz.  at 

140  Brathwait,  for  all  these  facta 
"I  Ibid.,  29. 

"2  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  5. 
"3  ibid.,  21. 


58  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [332 

our  Lady  Day  and  Michalmas  After  vjs.  viijd.  at  aither  Day  in 
full  Contentacion  for  the  hole  Yere  —  xiijs.  iiijd."144 

The  whole  practice  was  a  foolishly  benevolent  one,  which  often 
must  sorely  have  tugged  the  strained  moral  fibre  of  the  poor 
servants,  and  now  and  again  a  man  went  down  too  before  such 
buffetings  of  the  devil.  Thus  the  chief  officials  in  the  house- 
holds had  to  view  the  wine  lees  and  the  empty  casks  before  the 
yeomen  took  them  from  the  cellar.  They  must  keep  sharp  watch 
lest  the  Yeoman  and  Groom  of  the  Pantry  when  preparing  the 
bread  for  use  "chopp  of  great  peeces  of  the  bottomes  of  the 
loaves,  to  make  the  chippings  the  better ; "  or  lest  the  Yeoman  of 
the  Ewery  allow  the  chandlers  to  cheat  in  the  weight  and  quality 
of  their  lights  so  that  they  in  return,  ' '  would  pleasure  him ' '  by 
making  those  same  lightes  "to  be  longer  at  the  great  ends,  very 
neare  three  fingers  breadth  of  tallow  than  the  cotton  or  wicke 
doth  reach,"  which  sizable  chunk  he  could  cut  off  and  throw  in 
with  his  parings.  The  brewers  had  to  be  watched  to  see  that 
they  properly  stirred  the  malt  when  it  was  in  the  vat  with  the 
liquor  "and  not  to  leave  the  strength  to  remaine  in  the  graines, 
being  their  fees;  that  such  as  buy  the  same  of  these,  putting 
liquor  thereto,  may  draw  good  drincke  forth  thereof."  The 
Yeoman  Baker  if  left  to  his  own  devices,  was  prone  laxly  to  super- 
intend the  miller's  grinding,  for  the  bran  being  the  former's  fee, 
his  temptation  to  let  the  miller  grind  coarse  were  a  dancing  one ; 
his  evil  genius  might  again  play  him  false  when  he  and  the 
groom  were  bolting  the  meal ;  how  easy  for  them  to  allow  a  good 
portion  of  flour  to  remain,  thus  enriching  their  bran !  In  the 
household  of  George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  a  special  officer  had  to 
be  on  hand  when  lard  was  being  made  to  see  to  it  that  no  fees 
were  prematurely  taken  before  the  household  was  "sufficiently 
•served,  for  fryinge,  and  for  the  uncture  of  the  chariottes  and 
cartes,  as  it  shall  be  needefull.  .  ."  145  So  it  went  with  every 
office.146  The  stable  and  horse  men,  if  they  were  at  all  human 
and  like  their  fellows  of  to-day,  must  have  been  apt  indeed  to 
pronounce  early  on  the  decrepitude  of  their  office  furnishings, 
had  they  to  take  sly  measures  to  assure  their  verdict.  What 

144  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  353. 

145  Household  Ordinances,  95. 

146  All  fees  were  under  supervision  in  the  household  of  George,  Duke  of 
Clarence.     See  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  95-96. 


333]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  59 

erring  mortal  would  not  have  played  such  tricks  if  his  hosen 
gave  out  and  quarter  day  were  as  far  off  as  it  might  be  in  such  a 
crisis ! 

Finally,  still  as  part  of  the  practical  relationship  established 
between  a  nobleman  and  his  servants,  were  the  prevailing  prac- 
tices of  furnishing  to  servants  certain  clothing,  and  allowing 
them  certain  food.  In  some  households  the  sums  paid  yearly  for 
livery  cloth  and  badges  for  the  servants  were  large.  The  7th 
Earl  of  Derby  (17th  century)  advised  his  son  to  have  all  of  his 
servants  under  the  yeomen  in  livery.147  Earlier  it  was  custom- 
ary for  all  servitors  to  be  thus  appareled.  In  1469  George,  Duke 
of  Clarence,  furnished  cloth  for  both  long  and  short  gowns  to 
two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  servants  including  "Chambyr- 
layne,  hedde  officers,  knyghtes,  and  ladyes,"  the  whole  costing 
him  that  year  308£ :3s :4d.148  In  1561  Edward  Derby's  Receiver 
paid  152£:18s:7d  for  cloth  for  this  purpose.149  John  Carleton, 
Receiver  in  1522  for  Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  laid  out  that  year 
42£:121/£d  to  one  "Rycherd  Marche  for  xj  peces  of  brode  cloth 
made  at  Redeng  the  colour  light  tawney  orenge  colour.  .  ." 
In  the  lot  were  five  pieces  measuring  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  and  a  half  yards,  at  3s:4d  the  yard,  five  pieces  measuring 
one  hundred  and  thirty-one  yards  at  3s  a  yard,  and  one  of  five 
and  a  quarter  yards,  at  2s  :10d  the  yard.150  On  May  6th  of  1578 
livery  cloth  cost  Lord  North  of  Kirtling  23£:3s:8d,  while  in 
1581,  he  paid  8£:3s:4d  for  "vij  score  yardes  freese"  for  the 
same  purpose. 

Livery  cloth  indeed  could  occasionally  prove  an  annoying  and 
expensive  item  to  a  nobleman.  In  June  of  1483,  Lord  John 
Howard  became  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  verily  cloth  figured  large, 
for  some  time,  at  least,  in  the  background  of  his  existence.  Be- 
fore July  19th  of  that  year,  livery  material,  blue,  red,  tawny  — 
some  coarse  and  some  fine,  had  been  purchased  in  the  customary 
large  pieces  of  twenty-one  to  twenty-five  yards  each,  from  men 
in  Somersetshire,  Gloucestershire,  and  Suffolk,  who  may  have 
been  in  London,  and  also  from  men  who  were  apparently  London 
drapers  (Foster,  Porter,  Davis,  Stoddard,  Hartwell,  Cappell 

147  Second  Letter  to  his  son,  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  3,  3,  46. 

us  Boyal  Household  Ordinances,  105. 

us  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  5. 

iso  MS 8.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  262. 


60  THE   HOUSEHOLD  OP   A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN  [334 

and  Whight  are  named).  The  entire  bill  for  this  footed  up  at 
156£:9s:6d.  In  addition  to  this  cloth,  Howard  also  purchased, 
on  June  2nd,  1483,  from  one  Thomas  Coles,  a  London  skinner, 
enough  tawny  camlet,  black  damask,  holland,  black  velvet,  tuke 
russet,  tawny  damask,  black  satin,  cloth  of  gold,  green  satin, 
plunket  camlet,  tawny  satin,  purple  velvet,  black  buckram, 
"nayle"  velvet  and  white  tuke,  to  leave  a  handsome  debit  of 
156£:16s:2d  upon  the  merchant's  books.  These  were  neat  items, 
but  a  deal  of  the  cloth,  all  of  the  livery,  it  seems,  was  broad- 
cloth, for  the  " barbing,"  "shearing"  and  "sewing"  of  which, 
other  costs,  from  4d  up  to  3£:12s,  had  to  be  paid.  All  told,  to 
fit  out  the  household  in  new  attire  for  so  impressive  but  withal 
festive  an  event,  was  an  expensive  luxury  of  which  his  lordship 
must  have  been  quite  aware. 

Howard  and  his  wife  paid  on  these  cloth  bills  from  time  to 
time.  On  July  16th  the  duchess  paid  forty  marks  to  two  differ- 
ent men  "in  part  payment  for  cloth  for  the  livery,"  while  on 
August  10th  the  duke  himself  had  a  reckoning  with  the  man 
Davis,  mentioned  above,  when  it  was  discovered  that  his  Grace 
was  owing  the  merchant  16£  to  date  for  cloth;  Howard  there- 
upon paid  Davis  half  the  sum  and  agreed  to  pay  the  balance  ' '  at 
Bartelmew  tyde  nexst  folewyng."  He  was  as  good  as  his  word 
too  —  a  later  hand  having  entered  upon  his  books :  ' '  Hit  ye  al 
payde,  as  hit  a  perith  after  wards. ' ' 

What  with  the  cloth,  however,  and  other  expenses  attendant 
on  his  entrance  to  his  dukedom,  such  as  paying  for  his  letters 
patent,  with  their  seal  fee,  having  the  goldsmith  properly  fur- 
bish up  his  sword,  and  repair  his  "garter"  along  with  other 
work,  having  new  arras  worked  with  the  crest,  lions,  "Dytyng 
and  dressyng  his  swerd  at  his  creacion,"  joiner's  fees  for  tipped 
staves,  engraving  his  new  signet,  and  little  grace  sums  like  that 
paid  to  the  clerk  of  the  duchy,  the  new  duke  was  quite  pressed, 
if  not  seriously,  at  least  for  ready  money.  He  paid  for  only  a 
part  of  his  cloth,  nor  could  he  pay  entirely  for  his  tipped  staves, 
giving  the  joiners  but  40s,  and  in  addition  he  got  Thomas  Coles 
to  go  surety  for  him  to  a  "Lombard"  for  88£:6s:2d.  The  Lom- 
bard, according  to  Howard's  signetted  bill  of  July  20,  1483,  was 
one  Alysandir  Portenary,  merchant  of  Florence,  and  was  per- 
haps the  same  Italian  from  whom  Howard  had  at  another  time 


335]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  61 

58£  —  likewise  through  the  agency,  of  Coles,  who  must  have  been 
a  reliable  man.  Both  the  loans  were  duly  paid  upon  September 
13th,  for  the  clerk  entered  on  that  date,  ' '  which  sum  ys  paid  up 
and  content,  and  so  ys  both  Jhon  Colle  [he  must  have  meant 
Thomas]  and  the  bill  scansellyd  and  my  Lord  payd  the 
money. ' ' 151 

All  this  was  extra  expense  so  that  the  household  might  be  all 
spick  and  span,  a  la  mode,  for  the  "creation";  but  Lord  John 
Howard,  like  all  of  the  nobles,  had  always  paid  regularly  for 
clothing  and  shoes,  as  well  as  for  mending  hosen  and  clouting 
worn  foot-wear  for  many  of  his  servants ;  particularly  were  the 
children  of  the  chapel,  those  in  the  kitchen,  the  stable  men  and 
boys  and  Richard  the  Fool  thus  looked  after,  and  the  payments 
of  such  items  were  generally  intrusted  to  the  man  called  Skinner 
whom  we  noted  earlier:  Thus  on  October  13,  1481,  "My  Lord 
payd  Skynner  that  he  leyd  owte  for  a  peyre  of  choys  to  the  lad 
of  the  ketchyn  Campbell  vjd,  .  .  ."  152  or  a  fuller  bill  of  July 
llth,  when  he  paid  8d  for  a  ' '  scherte  to  Jonge  of  the  Kechin ; ' ' 
2d  for  "mendyng  of  Robyn  of  the  stabell  his  hossyn;"  6d  for  a 
"peyer  of  schoys  to  Mond  of  the  bake  howse;"  and  5d  for  a 
"peyer  of  schoys  for  George  of  the  Kechyn." 

It  was  the  practice  with  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  Lord  Howard's 
son,  to  have  regular  settlements  of  accounts  for  such  items  as 
these,  with  different  craftsmen  —  tailors,  shoemakers  and  others. 
"Ma.  A  reeonyng  mad  with  Jakson,  the  tayllor,  (Jan.  5th-6th 
Henry  7th)  and  then  he  reconyd  for  the  makyng  of  vij  tany 
gowyns  for  the  chyldreen  of  the  chapell,  takyng  for  the  pese 
makyng  vjd.  Item,  for  ij  gowyns  for  the  henchemen  xij.d. ;  and 
for  the  makyng  of  a  gowyn  for  Jak  the  chambur  vj.d.  and  for  the 
makyng  of  a  dowbelett,  and  a  peyer  of  hosyn  lyned,  for  Holcote, 
xviij.d. ;  and  for  the  makyng  of  ij.  cotes  to  Richart,  Robyn  and 
John  Feney  xij.d.  Item,  for  v.  yardes  of  whyte  lyneng  to  the 
sayd  dowbelett  cotes  ij.s  j.d.  Item  for  a  yard  of  whyt  fryse  to 
make  a  qrtr  to  Alderson  gown  vj.d.  Item,  for  dyeng  of  the 
lyneng  for  the  henchemens  gownys,  and  Jak  of  the  chambers 
viij.d.  Item,  for  the  makyng  of  a  dowbelett  to  Magnus  chyld  of 
the  brewhowse  x.d;  and  for  hys  hosyn  makyng  iiij.d.  Item,  for 

i5i  Howard  HouseJiold  Bool's  (Collier),  406-443. 

id.,  117,  215.    Further  instances,  31,  49,  117,  148-149,  164,  167,  etc. 


62  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [336 

the  same  Magnus  a  whyt  cote  and  a  payre  sloppes,  makyng 
viij.d."  153  One  of  the  reckonings  for  shoes  is  interesting:  "Md. 
Reconyd  with  Wyllyam  Palmer,  the  v.  day  of  Januare  anno  vjto 
H.  vijmi ;  and  that  day  he  reconyd  from  the  f est  of  Saynt  Michell, 
anno  vjto  H.  vijmi,  unto  the  fest  of  Crystmas  then  next  folyyng 
the  same,  for  all  such  shoys  as  [he]  hath  delyvered:  fyrst  to  the 
chylderyn  of  the  chapell  by  the  sayd  space  xxvp.  payre  of  shewys, 
takyng  for  the  payre  iiij.d.  Item,  to  Magnus  chyld  of  the  brew- 
hows,  iij.  payre  shewis,  price  xviij.d.  Item,  for  Lobb  j.  payre 
shewis,  price  vj.d. :  in  toto  xiiij.s."  154 

Probably  livery  cloth  was  furnished  to  their  servants  by  the 
nobles  largely  as  a  matter  of  pride,  and  also  in  self  defense.  In 
cases  where  inferior  servants  and  children  were  quite  at  a  noble- 
man's  "finding,"  protective  measures  also  worked  additional 
expenses.  In  the  Bertie  household  6.d.  was  paid  in  January  of 
1562  "For  a  payre  syssers  to  poll  the  boyes  of  the  kychen"! 1B6 
The  tousled  head  of  a  kitchen-boy !  What  a  nursery  for  ' '  crawl- 
in'  ferlies"!  No  wonder  they  polled  them! 

So  far  as  the  food  is  concerned  which  servants  received  from 
their  noble  masters,  it  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the 
chief  officers  in  the  households  sat  at  the  first  table  in  the  Hall, 
and  were  served  with  about  the  same  food  as  the  noble  master 
and  his  family  enjoyed;  many  of  the  humbler  servants,  of 
course,  dined  later  than  their  superiors,  and  had  plainer  food, 
except  in  so  far  as  they  might  share  in  the  provision  of  the  upper 
tables  by  what  was  known  as  the  "reversion."  That,  however, 
brings  up  the  whole  question  of  the  dining  service,  which  is  in- 
teresting enough  for  a  separate  study. 

In  conclusion,  there  is  little  of  the  novel  or  strange,  after  all, 
in  these  relationships  between  the  nobles  and  their  servants. 
The  aristocratic  class  appears  to  have  been  very  human,  and 
many  in  it  loved  their  ' '  household  men. ' '  Even  the  9th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  whose  experiences  with  his  servitors  began  so 
inauspiciously,  wrote  long  afterward  — ' '  And  this  I  must  truely 
testify  for  servants  out  of  experience,  that  in  all  my  fortunes 
good  and  badde,  I  have  found  them  more  reasonable  than  ether 

153  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  518. 

™*lbid.,  518. 

iss  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  469. 


337]  THE  FAMILY  AND  THE  SERVANTS  63 

wyfe,  brothers  or  friends  .  .  .  *' 156  —  a  strong  but  pathetic 
eulogiuni!  Further,  Stow  in  his  annals  records  Edward,  Earl 
of  Derby's  " joyful  parting  the  World;  his  taking  leave  of  all 
his  servants  by  shaking  of  hands ;  and  his  Rememberance  to  the 
last"157  —  than  which  there  could  not  be  a  more  touching  and 
worthy  memorial ! 

It  was  surely  this  grateful  esteem,  in  part,  which  called  an  en- 
tire household  also,  family  and  servants,  to  participate  in  the 
last  offices  in  honor  of  a  defunct  nobleman,  a  common  bond  of 
sympathy  in  suffering  drawing  all  together.  A  contemporary 
account  of  "The  Solemn  funeral  of  Francis  Talbot,  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury"  which  took  place  on  October  21st,  1560,  describes 
fully  "the  manner  of  the  proceeding  to  the  church  with  the 
corps.  .  ."  In  the  long  procession,  among  many  others,  were 
the  choir,  the  Gentlemen  of  the  household,  all  the  Chaplains  of 
the  deceased,  the  principal  officers,  the  Officers  of  Arms  and  all 
the  Yeomen  of  the  household.  Certain  of  the  Gentlemen  and 
officers  shared  in  part  of  the  services  too,  including  the  offering, 
and  finally,  when  the  body  was  placed  in  the  tomb,  "then  the 
officers  of  the  household  and  the  gentlemen  ushers,  with  the 
porter,  broke  their  staves  [i.e.  their  white  staves,  symbols  of 
their  offices]  and  soe  departed  to  the  Castle."  158 

The  nobles  treated  their  waged  hands  as  many  people  handle 
their  servants  to-day,  and  where  a  curious  practice  at  first  strikes 
us  as  odd  or  strange,  there  is  sure  to  go  with  it  a  human  nature, 
our  very  own  under  the  circumstances,  which  bridges  across  the 
wide  lapse  of  time,  and  makes  as  feel  at  home  in  those  old  days 
in  so  uncanny  a  fashion  that  the  somber  words  of  that  pessi- 
mistic Scotchman,  James  Thompson,  appal  us  with  their  dreary 
truth: 

The  cards  are  shuffled  to  and  fro, 

The  hands  may  very  somewhat  so; 

The  dirty  pack 's  the  same  we  know, 

Played  with  long  thousand  years  ago; 

Played  with  and  lost  with  still  by  man, 

Fate  marked  them  ere  the  game  began. 
—  Vane's  Story. 

ise  Advice  to  his  son,  Archaeologia,  XXVII. 

157  Stow,  Fol.  Edit.,  448. 

!58  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  254  et  seq. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  FOOD  OF  THE  NOBILITY 

' '  Thingis  wilom  vsed  ben  now  leyd  a  syde 
And  newe  feetis  dayly  ben  contreuide 
Mennys  actes  can  in  no  plyte  abyde 
They  be  changeable  ande  ofte  meuide 
Thingis  somtyme  alowed  is  now  repreuid 
And  after  this  shal  thinges  vp  aryse 
That  men  set  now  but  at  lytyl  pryse ' ' 

—  Caxton :  Book  of  Curtesye  —  E.  E.  T.  S.,  p.  45. 

The  presumptuous  motto,  ' '  Tell  me  what  you  eat  and  I  '11  tell 
you  what  you  are, ' '  boldly  trumpeted  by  certain  present  day  ex- 
ponents of  a  farinaceous  diet  would  but  ill  suit  as  a  plummet  to 
fathom  a  Tudor  noble's  character.  Withal,  however,  it  is  in- 
structive, if  it  but  awakens  fond  dreamers  on  "the  good  old 
times"  to  discover  by  what  means  our  lusty  aristocracy,  in  days 
long  gone,  kept  body  and  soul  together. 

The  sixteenth  century  English  were  great  consumers  of  food. 
Contemporary  foreign  comment  on  the  national  propensity  to 
feed  hugely  was  frequent.  Van  Meteren,  the  Antwerp  merchant, 
diplomat  and  historian,  resident  in  England  during  the  entire 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  characterizes  the  people  as  ".  .  .  eloquent 
and  very  hospitable;  they  feed  well  and  delicately,  and  eat  a 
great  deal  of  meat;  and  as  the  Germans  pass  the  bounds  of 
sobriety  in  drinking,  these  do  the  same  in  eating,  for  which  the 
fertility  of  the  country  affords  them  sufficient  means,  .  .  . "  1 
Nicander  Nucius,  who  traveled  in  England  during  1545  and 
1546,  recorded  in  his  notebook :  ' '  The  race  of  men  indeed  is  fair, 
inclining  to  a  light  color,  .  .  ."  He  then  goes  on  to  describe 
the  English  as  "flesh  eaters,  and  insatiable  of  animal  food; 
sottish  and  unrestrained  in  their  appetites ;  .  .  . " 

1  Van  Meteren,  History  of  the  Netherlands,  cited  in  Eye,  England  as 
Seen  by  Foreigners,  70. 

2  Travels    of    Nicander    Nucius,    16.     Camden    Society,    London,    1841. 

64 


339]  THE  FOOD  OP  THE  NOBILITY  65 

In  addition  to  this  rather  caustic  criticism  from  sojourners  in 
their  country,  a  carefully  informed  native  like  the  historian 
Harrison  asserts  that  the  tables  of  his  countrymen  were  often 
more  plentifully  laden  than  those  of  other  nations,  and  scien- 
tifically apologizes  for  this  worship  of  King  Belly  by  his  fellow 
men  in  this  wise:  "The  situation  of  our  region,  lieng  neere 
vnto  the  north,  dooth  cause  the  heate  of  our  stomaches  to  be  of 
somewhat  greater  force:  therefore  our  bodies  doo  craue  a  little 
more  ample  nourishment,  than  the  inhabitants  of  hotter  regions 
are  accustomed  withall,  whose  digestiue  force  is  not  altogither  so 

There  are  still  other  well  known  comments  like  the  above;  the  German 
jurist,  Paul  Hentzner,  who  traveled  in  England  in  1598,  says  of  the  English 
people,  "They  are  more  polite  in  eating  than  the  French,  consuming  less 
bread  but  more  meat,  which  they  roast  to  perfection."  Paul  Hentzner 'a 
Travels  in  England,  cited  in  Eye,  op.  cit.,  110. 

The  Dutch  physician  and  ecclesiastic,  Levinus  Lemnius,  traveling  in 
England  in  1581,  writes  in  a  more  appreciative  vein;  speaking  first  of  the 
"incredible  curtesie  and  frendlines  in  speache  and  affability  used  in  this 
famous  realme, "  and  delightfully  chronicling  "the  neate  cleanlines,  the 
exquisite  finenesse,  the  pleasaunte  and  delightfull  furniture  in  every  poynt 
for  household,"  he  then  continues:  "And  this  do  I  thinck  to  be  the  cause 
that  Englishmen,  lyving  by  such  holesome  and  exquisite  meate,  and  in  so 
holesome  and  healthful  ayre  be  so  freshe  and  cleane  coloured:  ...  At 
their  tables  althoughe  they  be  very  sumptuous,  and  love  to  have  good  fare, 
yet  neyther  use  they  to  overcharge  themselves  with  excesse  of  drincke, 
neyther  thereto  greatly  provoke  and  urge  others,  but  suffer  every  man  to 
drincke  in  such  measure  as  best  pleaseth  hymselfe,  whych  drinck  being 
eyther  Ale  or  Beere,  most  pleasaunte  in  tast  and  holesomely  relised,  they 
fetch  not  from  foreine  places,  but  have  it  amonge  themselves  brewed." 
Notes  on  England,  1560,  by  Levinus  Lemnius,  cited  in  Eye,  op.  cit.,  78-79. 

Finally  a  Venetian,  probably  a  nobleman,  who  accompanied  an  am- 
bassador from  the  Eepublic  to  England  about  the  year  1500,  touched  this 
point  in  his  report  made  to  the  Senate  on  his  return  home.  "They  (the 
English)  take  great  pleasure  in  having  a  quantity  of  excellent  victuals,  and 
also  in  remaining  a  long  time  at  table,  being  very  sparing  of  wine  when 
they  drink  it  at  their  own  expense.  .  .  The  deficiency  of  wine,  however, 
ia  amply  supplied  by  the  abundance  of  ale  and  beer,  to  the  use  of  which 
these  people  are  become  so  habituated,  that,  at  an  entertainment  where 
there  is  plenty  of  wine,  they  will  drink  them  in  preference  to  it,  and  in 
great  quantities."  And  once  again,  "Besides  which  the  English  being 
great  epicures,  and  very  avaricious  by  nature,  indulge  in  the  most  delicate 
fare  themselves,  and  give  their  household  the  coarsest  bread,  and  beer,  and 
cold  meat  baked  on  Sunday  for  the  week,  which,  however,  they  allow  them 
in  great  abundance."  A  Relation,  or  Bather  a  True  Account  of  the  Island 
of  England  (etc.),  Camden  Society,  1847,  21,  25. 


66  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [340 

vehement,  bicause  their  internall  heat  is  not  so  strong  as  ours, 
which  is  kept  in  by  the  coldnesse  of  the  aire,  that  from  time  to 
time  (speciallie  in  winter)  dooth  enuiron  our  bodies."3  This 
is  a  nai've  declaration  and  as  true  as  the  latest  diatetic  ''discov- 
ery" vouchsafed  to  a  gullible  public  through  the  columns  of  a 
twentieth  century  medical  journal;  it  stands,  however,  as  grave 
evidence  from  a  studious  observer,  of  the  fact  that  the  English 
were  "pamperers  of  their  carcasses"  beyond  the  wont  of  the  rest 
of  the  world.  All  of  these  men  were  speaking  of  the  English 
people  as  a  whole,  but  especially  do  their  assertions  characterize 
the  practices  of  the  nobility  in  this  respect.  That  class  led  the 
nation  in  cherishing  a  love  of  good  cheer. 

A  whimsical  dictate  of  that  perfect  lady,  Clio,  has  preserved 
for  us  a  curious  document  of  the  early  17th  century  4  which  con- 
tains a  veritable  treasure  trove  of  information  about  the  man- 
agement of  a  nobleman's  house.  One  part  of  it  is  a  detailed 
list  of  seasonable  food  available  for  a  lordly  establishment,  all 
neatly  tabulated  item  by  item,  under  the  general  caption  "a 
Monthlie  Table,  with  a  Diatorie  belonginge  thereunto,  of  all 
such  provisions  as  bee  in  seasone  through  the  whole  yeare." 
Commencing  with  January,  and  following  along  with  each  month 
of  the  twelve,  the  so-called  "grosse"  or  staple  articles  of  food 
are  first  noted  for  each  month;  thereafter  come  tables  of  the 
"Foules"  and  "Fische"  which  "bee  nowe  in  seasone"  likewise 
for  each  month,  together  with  a  suitable  "diatree"  for  dinner 
and  supper,  the  little  treatise  concluding  with  grand  or  summary 
tables  of  necessary  provisions  for  the  whole  year. 

A  study  of  this  list  leaves  one  with  the  impression  that  the 
eager  purveyors  to  the  tables  of  the  English  aristocracy  went 
over  their  Christendom  with  a  drag  net.  There  was  scarcely  a 
living  creature  which  habited  the  air,  the  dry  land,  or  the  waters 
under  the  earth,  whose  right  to  exist  was  not  sounded  by  these 
zealous  officials. 

Among  the  winged  kind,  full  sixty -three  birds  were  eaten.  Of 
these,  in  addition  to  the  common  barn-yard  fowls,  were  several 
such  as  quail,  pigeons,  grouse  and  partridge,  also  well  known  to- 

s  Harrison's  Description  of  England,  Holinshed's  Chronicles,  1,  278, 
London,  1807. 

* "  A  Breviate  Touching  the  Order  and  Government  of  a  Nobleman  'B 
House,"  etc.,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  315  et  seq. 


341]  THE  FOOD  OP  THE  NOBILITY  67 

day,  and  still  highly  valued  for  their  delicate  flesh.  Further, 
many  of  the  water  fowls  which  frequented  either  the  fresh 
streams  and  lakes  or  the  sea  lands,  including  teals,  shovelers, 
stints,  godwits,  diddapers,  bitters  (bitterns),  aukes,  rails,  barn- 
acles, puffins,  widgeons,  terns  and  others,  are  likewise  yet  known 
to  some  folks  as  food.  On  the  other  hand,  a  few,  like  "ken- 
nices,"  "bayninge,"  and  "blonkett,"  it  is  hard,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  identify.  Perhaps  they  are  in  England  extinct  birds, 
along  with  the  crane,  egret,  and  brewe,  which  latter,  however, 
are  recognizable. 

Bishop  Percy,  commenting  on  this  sort  of  food  which  was 
largely  eaten  by  the  Earl  of  Northumberland's  household,  says: 
"In  the  List  of  Birds  here  served  up  to  Table,  are  many  Fowls 
which  are  now  (late  18th  century)  discarded  as  little  better  than 
rank  Carrion."5  "We  agree  by  instinct  with  that  learned  man, 
our  stomachs  rebelling  at  the  thought  of  banquetting  on  fish-eat- 
ing sea  gulls  and  cranes  or  the  unspeakable  bustard  species,  until 
we  read  old  Mussett's 6  recipes  for  preparing  some  of  these  out- 
landish creatures  for  food.  In  able  fashion  he  either  puts  each 
bird  through  a  refining  novitiate,  or  so  subtly  be-sauces  and  be- 
spices  him,  that  before  we  are  aware,  our  mouths  are  a-hunger 
after  the  flesh  pots  of  the  earl's  kitchen,  while  in  a  dyspeptic 
bewilderment  we  wonder  what  this  culinary  magician  might  have 
done  with  Lazarus! 

Here  follows  his  procedure  with  an  unseemly  trilogy  —  the 
stork,  bitter,  and  heron  —  "To  render  .  ...  (them)  .  .  . 
fit  to  be  eaten."  One  is  to  select  the  youngest  and  fattest,  and 
after  having  first  removed  the  skins  according  to  the  French 
fashion  which  makes  them  relish  far  better,  the  flesh  is  then  to  be 
well  seasoned  with  much  spice,  salt,  or  onion,  then  thoroughly 
steeped  in  a  draught  of  old  wine,  when  it  is  to  be  stuffed  full  of 
sweet  herbs  and  drawn  with  fine  and  small  lard.7 

The  evil  bustard,  upon  whose  carrion  flesh  all  of  the  nobility 
were  wont  at  times  to  regale  themselves,  is  to  that  purpose  trans- 
formed into  "a  dainty  and  wholesome  meat"  either  through  diet- 
ing for  a  day  or  two  on  white  bread,  or  preferably,  by  "  .  .  . 

s  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  Notes,  425. 
s  A  contemporary  dietitian. 

7  Mussett,  Treatise  on  Food,  London,  1655.  Quoted  in  Archaeologia, 
XIII,  in  notes  to  the  ' '  Breviate. ' ' 


68  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [342 

keeping  him  altogether  fasting,  that  he  may  scour  away  his 
ordure;  .  .  ."  when,  after  bleeding  him  to  death  in  the  neck 
veins,  and  mellowing  him  by  hanging  him  for  three  or  four  days 
in  a  cool  place,  "out  of  the  moon-shine,"  he  is  fit  to  be  baked 
or  roasted!  The  crane,  "bred  in  our  English  fens,"  being 
young,  killed  with  a  goshawk,  hanged  two  or  three  days  ' '  by  the 
heels,"  eaten  with  hot  gelentine 8  and  "drowned  in  sack"  is  per- 
mitted unto  indifferent  stomachs. 

This  is  heroic,  for  Mussett's  fellow  citizens  knew,  of  course, 
as  well  as  did  Bishop  Percy,  that  many  of  these  birds  were  un- 
clean in  their  native  state;  one  Lawrens  Andrewe,  for  example, 
wrote  of  these  two  very  fowls  as  follows : 

"The  Bistarda  is  a  birde  as  great  as  an  egle,  of  the  maner  of 
an  egel,  and  of  suche  colour,  saue  in  the  winges  &  in  the  tayle 
it  hath  some  white  feders;  he  hath  a  crooked  byll,  &  longe  talants. 
and  it  is  slowe  of  flight  &  whan  he  is  on  the  grownde,  than  must 
he  ryse.  iij.  or  iiij.  tymes  or  he  can  come  to  any  fulle  flight,  he  tak- 
eth  his  mete  on  the  erth ;  for  v.or.vi.  of  them  togeder  be  so  bold  that 
they  festen  on  a  shepe  &  tere  hym  a-sonder  &  .so  ete  the  flesshe 
of  him  &  this  birde  dothe  ete  also  of  dede  bestes  &  stinkyn  caryon, 
and  it  eteth  also  grasse  &  grene  erbes  &  it  layeth  his  eggis  vpon 
the  grounde,  &  bredeth  them  out  the  while  that  the  corne  groweth 
on  the  felde." 

"The  flesshe  of  him  (i.e.,  the  crane)  is  grosse,  &  not  good  to 
disiest  &  it  maketh  malancolious  blode  .  .  . "  etc. 9 

Our  gastronomic  genius,  however,  with  subjective  vehemence 
utterly  rejects  the  puffin,  yet  with  an  adroit  assertion  of  the 
truth  in  the  old  proverb  "de  gustibus. "  He  declares  that  "Puf- 
fins being  Birds  and  no  Birds,  that  is  to  say  Birds  in  show  and 
Fish  in  substance,  or,  as  one  may  justly  call  them,  feathered 

*A  kind  of  sauce.  "PIKE  IN  GALENTYNE.  Take  a  pike  and  seth 
him  ynowe  in  gode  sauce;  And  then  couche  him  in  a  vessell,  that  he  may  be 
y-carried  yn,  if  thou  wilt;  And  what  tyme  he  is  eolde,  take  brede,  and  stepe 
hit  in  wyne  and  vinegre,  and  cast  there-to  canell,  and  drawe  hit  thorgh  a 
streynour,  And  do  hit  in  a  potte,  And  cast  there-to  to  pouder  peper;  And 
take  emale  oynons,  and  myce  hem,  And  fry  hem  in  oyle,  and  cast  there-to 
a  fewe  saunders,  (Sandal)  and  lete  boyle  awhile;  And  cast  all  this  hote 
vppon  the  pike,  and  cary  him  forth. ' '  —  Two  15th  Century  Cookery-Books, 
101. 

»  Quoted  by  Furnivall  in  Part  2  of  Manners  and  Meals  in  Olden  Times, 
218-219,  from  "The  noble  lyfe  and  natures  of  man,"  by  Lawrens  Andrewe. 


343]  THE  POOD  OF  THE  NOBILITY  69 

Fishes,  are  of  ill  taste  and  worse-  digestion  how  dainty  soever 
they  may  seem  to  strange  appetites,  and  are  permitted  by  Popes 
to  be  eaten  in  Lent. ' ' 10 

If  such  a  wry  face  as  this,  together  with  these  introductory 
"renderings  fit  to  eat"  by  subsequent  drownings  in  this  or  that 
scented  bath  of  oblivion,  make  us  eerie  of  comestible  virtues  at 
best  but  doubtful,  the  outburst  of  Epicurean  enthusiasm  which 
such  birds  as  the  godwit  inspired,  leaves  little  room  for  sus- 
picion in  regard  to  their  acceptance  as  'wholesome  food.  Mussett, 
who  proves  a  thorough  aristocrat,  tells  us  that  "a  fat  godwite 
is  so  fine  and  light  a  meat,  that  noblemen,  (yea  and  merchants 
too,  by  your  leave)  stick  not  to  buy  them  at  four  nobles  a 
dozen."11 

In  fact,  many  of  these  birds  which  found  their  way  to  the 
tables  of  the  nobility  were  rare  delicacies.  Harrison,  after  enu- 
merating a  goodly  number  known  in  his  England,  says  that  there 
were  ' ' .  .  .  diuerse  other,  whose  names  to  me  are  vtterlie  vn- 
knowne,  and  much  more  the  taste  of  their  flesh,  wherewith  I  was 
neuer  acquainted. ' ' 12 

The  water  creatures  of  the  rivers  and  deeps  were  yet  more 
generously  drawn  upon  for  food  by  the  nobles.  The  sorts  of  fish 
eaten,  fresh  and  salt,  together  with  crabs,  bivalves,  and  so  on, 
count  some  seventy-two.  Here,  again,  while  we  discover  many 
well  known  sea-foods,  including  herring,  mackerel,  salmon,  stur- 
geon, ling,  haberdine,  trout,  perch,  lobsters,  sprats,  and  oysters, 
there  are  other  present-day  "zoo"  oddities,  like  seals  and  por- 
poises, commonly  enumerated  along  with  the  rest  of  their  am- 
phibious ilk,  so  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  birds,  one  is  compelled 
to  believe  that  almost  anything  which  might  be  caught  was 
sampled  for  food.  Porpoise  was  commonly  enough  eaten,  how- 
ever, so  that  Skelton  's  line  in  his  curious  piece,  ' '  Speke,  Parrot, ' ' 
With  Porpose  and  Graundepose  may  he  fede  hym  fattens 

probably  expressed  a  possible  treat  within  the  easy  reach  of 
many. 

But  fads  in  food  were  as  rife  then  as  to-day.    Mussett  says  of 

10  Op.  eit.,  Archaeologia,  XIII. 

11  Op.  tit.,  ArcJiaeologia,  XIII. 

12  Harrison,  Description  of  England,  Holinshed,  1,  374. 
is  Skelton 's  Poems,  Dyce,  2,  261  et  seq. 


70  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [344 

this  very  sea-hog:  "It  is  an  unsavory  meat,  engendering  many 
superfluous  humors,  augmenting  phleagm,  and  troubling  no  less 
an  indifferent  stomach,  then  they  trouble  the  waters  against  a 
tempest :  yet  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  love  it  exceedingly,  bakd 
like  venison :  yea  I  know  a  great  gentlewoman  in  Warwick  Lane 
once  send  for  a  pasty  of  it,  given  from  a  courtier  when  the  pris- 
oners of  Newgate  had  refused  the  Fellow  of  it  out  of  a  beggars 
basket.  Thus  like  lips  like  lettice,  and  that  which  is  most  men's 
bane  may  be  fittest  to  delight  and  nourish  others. ' ' 14  He  dis- 
misses seal's  flesh  with  disdain,  as  fit  only  for  the  stomachs  of 
mariners  and  sailors,  who  also  knew  the  best  way  to  prepare  it. 
With  eloquence,  though,  does  he  proclaim  the  crevice  (cray-fish) 
"a  fine  temperate  and  nourishing  meat,  which  the  English  do 
foolishly  ...  to  eat  ...  last."15 

What  a  jewel  Mussett  would  have  been  to  pinnacle  the  greasy 
diadem  of  a  Chicago  packer !  But  we  are  duly  thankful  for  that 
beneficent  hand  which  places  such  men  where  their  providential 
roles  are  most  widely  effective.  To  think  of  an  English  earl 
and  his  lady,  dressed  as  the  Tudor  nobility  alone  in  that  day 
could  apparel  themselves,  trumpeted  in  magnificent  state  to  a 
board  on  which  a  delicate  entry  of  baked  crane  or  bustard  would 
appear !  .  .  .  But  what  if  unskilful  hands  had  served  up  the 
unregenerate  carrion  off  the  wing! 

No  hard  Hebraic  Law  limited  the  heavier  meats  to  such  as 
came  from  cud-chewing,  hoof-splitting  beasts,  so  that  in  the 
"grosse  provision"  as  it  was  called,  pig,  pork,  bacon,  and  the 
peculiarly  English  brawn  16  stood  cheek  by  jowl  with  the  more 

14  Mussett,  op.  cit.,  Archaeologia,  XIII. 

is  Mussett,  op.  cit.,  Archaeologia,  XIII. 

is  Harrison,  in  his  Description  of  England,  explains  what  brawn  was  in 
the  following  pleasant  narrative: 

"Of  our  tame  bores  we  make  brawne,  which  is  a  kind  of  meat  not 
vsuallie  knowne  to  strangers  (as  I  take  it)  otherwise  would  not  the  swart 
Butters  and  French  cookes,  at  the  losse  of  Calis  (where  they  found  great 
store  of  this  prouision  in  almost  euerie  house)  haue  attempted  with  ridicu- 
lous successe  to  rost,  bake,  broile,  &  frie  the  same  for  their  masters,  till 
they  were  better  informed.  I  haue  heard  moreouer,  how  a  noble  man  of 
England,  not  long  since,  did  send  ouer  an  hogshead  of  brawne  readie  sowsed 
to  a  catholike  gentleman  of  France,  who  supposing  it  to  be  fish,  reserued  it 
till  Lent,  at  which  time  he  did  eat  thereof  with  verie  great  frugalitie. 
Thereto  he  so  well  liked  of  the  prouision  it  selfe,  that  he  wrote  ouer  verie 


345]  THE  FOOD  OF  THE  NOBILITY  71 

dignified  beef,  veal,  mutton,  lamb,' hind,  roe,  doe,  goat,  and  kid 
which,  laded  the  tables  in  abundance.  Rabbit  or  cony,  and  hare, 
constantly  eaten,  were,  of  course,  noted. 

The  staple  grains  were  wheat,  rye  and  oats.  Classed  with 
these  is  the  all-important  malt.  This  conspicuous  mention  of  the 
manufactured  product  perhaps  accounts  for  the  neglect  of  its 
progenitor.  Old  barley-corn,  no  puny  in  these,  the  hey-days  of 
the  beer  barrel,  is  not  named. 

' '  Spice, ' '  as  then  understood,  was  a  blanket  term,  which  with 
its  generous  inclusiveness,  would  appal  even  a  German  house- 
wife of  today,  at  the  same  time  relegating  her  tin  can  categories 
to  a  dusty  back  shelf.  Thus  the  "necessary  spice  for  the 
kitchen"  comprised  the  following:  sugar,  nutmegs,  pepper, 

earnestlie  with  offer  of  great  recompense  for  more  of  the  same  fish 
against  the  yeare  insuing:  whereas  if  he  had  knowne  it  to  haue  been  flesh, 
he  would  not  haue  touched  it  (I  dare  saie)  for  a  thousand  crownes  without 
the  popes  dispensation.  A  freend  of  mine  also  dwelling  sometime  in 
Spaine,  hauing  certaine  lewes  at  his  table,  did  set  brawne  before  them, 
whereof  they  did  eat  verie  earnestlie,  supposing  it  to  be  a  kind  of  fish  not 
common  in  those  parties:  but  when  the  goodman  of  the  house  brought  in  the 
head  in  pastime  among  them,  to  shew  what  they  had  eaten,  they  rose  from 
the  table,  hied  them  home  in  hast,  ech  of  them  procuring  himselfe  to  vomit, 
some  by  oile,  and  some  by  other  meanes,  till  (as  they  supposed)  they  had 
clensed  their  stomachs  of  that  prohibited  food.  With  vs  it  is  accounted  a 
great  peece  of  seruice  at  the  table,  from  Nouember  vntill  Februarie  be 
ended;  but  cheeflie  in  the  Christmasse  time.  With  the  same  we  also  begin 
our  dinners  ech  daie  after  other:  and  because  it  is  somewhat  hard  of  diges- 
tion, a  draught  of  maluesie,  bastard,  or  muscalell,  is  vsuallie  droonke  after 
it,  where  either  of  them  are  conuenientlie  to  be  had:  .  .  .  It  is  made 
commonlie  of  the  fore  part  of  a  tame  bore,  set  vp  for  the  purpose  by  the 
space  of  a  whole  yere  or  two,  especiallie  in  gentlemen's  houses  ...  in 
which  time  he  is  dieted  with  otes  and  peason,  and  lodged  on  the  bare  planks 
of  an  vneasie  coat  (pen)  till  his  fat  he  hardened  sufncientlie  for  their  pur- 
pose: afterward  he  is  killed,  scalded,  and  cut  out,  and  then  of  his  former 
parts  is  our  brawne  made,  .  .  .  The  necke  peeces  being  cut  off  round, 
are  called  collars  of  brawne  .  .  .  ech  peece  is  wrapped  vp,  either  with 
bulrushes,  ozier  peeles,  tape,  inkle,  or  such  like,  and  then  sodden  in  a  lead 
or  caldron  togither,  till  they  be  so  tender  that  a  man  may  thrust  a  brused 
rush  or  soft  straw  cleane  through  the  fat:  which  being  doone,  they  take  it 
vp,  and  laie  it  abroad  to  coole:  afterward  putting  it  into  close  vessels,  they 
powre  either  good  small  ale  or  beere  mingled  with  veriuice  and  salt  thereto 
till  it  be  couered,  and  so  let  it  lie  (now  and  then  altering  and  changing  the 
sowsing  drinke  lest  it  should  wax  sowre)  till  occasion  serue  to  spend  it  out 
of  the  waie. ' '  —  Harrison,  op.  cit.,  Holinshed,  I,  373-374. 


72  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [316 

prunes,  dates,  cinnamon,  saffron,17  raisins,  isinglass,18  ginger, 
mace,  "saunders,"  19  currants  and  '  'turnsaile. "  20  Salt  and 
hops  are  classed  separately  along  with  starch  and  soap. 

In  addition  to  beer  and  ale,  claret,  white,  Rhenish,  sack  and 
muscadel  wines  offered  quite  a  variety  in  beverages.  The  vari- 
ety was  really  far  greater  here  than  it  would  at  first  appear,  too, 
since  Harrison  asserts  that  "Claret,  White,  Red,  French,  (wines) 
.  .  .  amount  to  about  fifty-six  sorts,  according  to  the  number 
of  regions  whence  they  come."  In  addition  to  these  which  were 
certainly  the  commonest  wines  in  use,  Harrison  also  mentions 
"thirtie  kinds  of  Italian,  Grecian,  Spanish,  Canarian,  etc.," 
drunk  by  the  English,  and  specifically  notes  of  these  "Veruage, 
Gate  pument,  Easpis,  Muscadell,  Eomnie,  Bastard  Tire,  Oseie, 
Caprike,  Clareie,  and  Malmeseie, "  as  "  not  least  of  all  accompted 
of,  bicause  of  their  strength  and  valure. ' ' 21 

Thus  far  we  have  a  generous,  but  one-sided  larder.  It  is 
rounded  out,  however,  by  green  truck  items,  and  fruits  of  cur- 
rent value,  jotted  down  together  with  such  an  odd  assortment  of 
delectables  running  the  veriest  gormand's  gamut,  that  as  one 
contemplates  the  list,  he  is  utterly  at  a  loss  to  determine  the  prob- 
able norm  in  the  mind  of  the  unknown  compiler.  The  tabula- 
tion as  it  stands  were  fit  stock  for  a  yet  more  juicy  "Disserta- 
tion" by  the  hand  of  our  gentlest  humorist!  Its  sober,  matter- 
of-course  label  alone  tells  quite  a  story  —  "A  generall  table  of 
necessarie  provisions  for  the  whole  yeare. " 

Most  of  the  vegetables  then  used,  like  radishes,  cauliflower, 
potatoes,  cabbage,  cucumbers,  lettuce,  carrots,  spinach,  and  arti- 
chokes, are  found  in  all  well  ordered  gardens  of  today.  Beans 
and  peas,  though  commonly  known,  were  not  noted.  The 
"skerett,"  however,  which  Harrison  also  writes  about,  a  carrot- 
like  root,  is  no  longer  cultivated  in  England,22  while  "navews, " 
a  variety  of  turnip,  are  at  present  raised  for  sheep  feed  and 

i?  The  Crocus  Sativus,  much  used  in  cookery  and  as  medicine, 
is  Gelatine,  called  isinglass  from  its  mica-like  appearance. 

19  ' '  This  fragrant  wood,  brought  from  the  East  Indies,  was  principally 
used  for  colouring   the  confections  red.     .     ."     Bishop   Percy's  note   in 
Northumberland  Household,  Boole,  415. 

20  Another  herb,  used  for  coloring  confections  and  jellies. 

21  Harrison.  Description  of  England,  Holinshed,  1,  281. 

22  Ibid.,  Camelot  Series,  25,  note  by  E.  C.  A.  Prior. 


347]  THE  FOOD  OP  THE  NOBILITY  73 

Colza  oil.23  Purslane,  the  Portulaca  Domestica,  according  to 
Gerrard's  Herbal  (p.  521,  ed.  1633),  was  then  esteemed,  as  well 
for  its  medicinal  properties,  as  for  its  edible  virtues.  Either 
raw  or  boiled  it  was  made  into  a  salad.  Cress  was  also,  as  it  is 
still,  used  in  the  same  way. 

The  fruits  named  were  few.  Pears,  distinguished  from  war- 
dens, a  large  baking  variety,  apples,  oranges,  lemons  and  melons 
being  listed.  Many  more  were  known.  Harrison  speaks  of 
peaches  and  apricots,  while  with  a  firm  conviction  in  the  fitness 
of  God's  handiwork,  he  tells  about  the  annual  fruits,  strange 
herbs,  and  plants  ".  .  .  dailie  brought  vnto  vs  from  the  In- 
dies, Americans,  Taprobane,  Canarie  lies,  and  all  parts  of  the 
world:  the  which  albeit  that  in  respect  of  the  constitutions  of 
our  bodies  they  doo  not  grow  for  vs,  bicause  that  God  hath  be- 
stowed sufficient  commodities  vpon  euerie  countrie  for  hir  owne 
necessitie;  yet  for  delectation  sake  vnto  the  eie,  and  their  odor- 
iferous sauours  vnto  the  nose,  they  are  to  be  cherished,  and 
God  to  be  glorified  also  in  them,  bicause  they  are  his  good  gifts, 
and  created  to  doo  man  helpe  and  seruice. ' ' 2* 

In  addition  to  the  vegetables,  fruits,  and  the  products  of  the 
dairy  along  with  eggs,  many  highly  flavored  articles  of  food  were 
eaten.  Vinegar  and  verjuice,  a  tart  liquor  used  like  vinegar, 
made  from  crushed  crab  apples;  eringoes,  the  candied  root  of 
another  plant  found  on  the  sea  shore;  olives,  citron,  caviar,  an- 
chovies, capers  and  barberries  being  the  most  important.  With 
these  also,  samphire  is  mentioned,  a  plant  whose  young  leaves  were 
pickled.  Gerard  describes  several  varieties  of  this  samphire,  one 
of  which  grew  in  the  rocky  cliffs  at  Dover  and  in  other  like  places 
along  the  sea  shore.  Shakespeare  had  probably  watched  the  dar- 
ing purveyors  of  this  delicacy  at  work,  and  the  experience  en- 
abled him  to  picture  vividly  that  sad  scene  in  Lear  where  Edgar 
is  leading  his  blinded  father  Gloster,  as  the  latter  supposes,  to 
the  brink  of  those  very  Dover  cliffs  that  he  may  throw  himself 
off.  The  young  man  carrying  out  his  feint,  says  to  his  father: 

Come  on,  sir;  here's  the  place:  — stand  still.  —  How  fearful 
And  dizzy  'tis  to  cast  one's  eye  so  low! 

23  Harrison,  Description  of  England,  Camelot  Edition,  26,  note  by  E.  C. 
A.  Prior. 

24  Harrison,  op.  cit.,  Holinshed,  1,  351. 


74  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [348 

The  crows  and  Coughs  that  wing  the  midway  air 
Show  scarce  so  gross  as  beetles:  half  way  down 
Hangs  one  that  gathers  samphire,  —  dreadful  trade! 
Methinka  he  seems  no  bigger  than  his  head: 

Herbs  were  set  down  simply  as  herbs.  It  is  well  they  were,  for 
Harrison  informs  us  that  in  his  time  some  three  or  four  hun- 
dred were  in  use;  in  fact  he  says  that  he  himself  had  seen  that 
many  in  a  single  garden,  perhaps  a  half  of  which  number  had 
been  known  not  a  generation,  while  so  lively  was  the  interest  in 
these  annuals  because  of  their  medicinal  value,  this  great  list  was 
growing  steadily.25 

Finally  various  meat  products  were  relished.  Sausages,  "an- 
dulees,"  which  are  baldly  described  by  a  contemporary  as  pud- 
dings made  of  hog's  guts  filled  with  spice,  one  gut  drawn  after 
another,26  calf 's  mugget,  like  the  former,  except  that  it  was  the 
veal's  entrails  made  into  a  pie,  neat's  tongue  in  three  states  — 
"green,"  dried,  and  soused,  the  heads  and  plucks  of  calves, 
lambs,  and  kids,  and  soused  tripe  —  these  are  capital  examples. 

From  such  a  rich  store  what  dainty  menus  must  have  been 
fashioned  under  the  expert  supervision  of  groups  of  those 
"musical  headed"  French  cooks  Harrison  tells  about!  It  is  to 
be  observed,  however,  that  while  this  food  was  in  general  char- 
acteristic of  the  stock  provision  widely  consumed  by  the  nobility, 
this  list  was  constructed,  as  we  have  remarked  before,  in  the  early 
17th  century.  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  living  nearly 
one  hundred  years  before  that  time,  could  not,  therefore,  have 
had  potatoes  on  his  bill  of  fare,  whereas  the  9th  Earl  of  the 
same  house  may  well  have  relished  that  later  staple  tuber  —  so 
wide  awake  were  the  purveyors. 

Further,  the  French  fads  in  cookery  so  rife  in  Harrison's  day, 
seemed,  at  a  later  date,  to  Braith wait's  Puritanic  sense  the  de- 
generate mark  of  a  wanton  departure  from  the  hardy  simplicity 
of  the  sturdy  English  in  an  earlier  and  less  sophisticated  age. 
His  querulous  diatribe,  if  long,  is  instructive.  "In  ancient 
time, ' '  says  he,  vaguely  enough, ' '  noble  men  contented  themselves 
to  be  served  with  such  as  had  bene  bred  in  ther  owne  houses ;  but 
of  later  times,  none  could  please  some,  except  Italians  and 
Frenchmen,  or,  at  the  least,  brought  up  in  the  court,  or  vnder 

25  Harrison,  op.  cit.,  Holinshed,  I,  351. 
ze  Archaeologia,  XIII,  388. 


349]  THE  FOOD  OP  THE   NOBILITY  75 

London  cookes :  nor  would  the  old*  manner  of  baking,  boyling, 
or  roasting  please  them,  but  the  boyled  meates  must  be  after  the 
French  fashion,  the  dishes  garnished  about  with  sugar,  and  pre- 
served plummes,  the  meates  covered  over  with  Orangade,  pre- 
served Lemons,  and  with  divers  other  preserved  and  conserved 
stuffe  fetched  from  the  Conf ectionaries ;  more  honie  and  sugar 
spent  in  boyling  fish  to  serve  at  one  meale,  than  might  well  serve 
the  whole  expence  for  the  house  in  a  day.  The  baked  meates 
must  be  set  out  with  armes  and  crestes,  flourished  and  gilded, 
more  fitt  for  monuments  in  churches,  wher  they  might  have  con- 
tinuance, than  to  be  set  vpon  tables  wher  they  are  little  sooner 
scene  then  consumed.  The  roast  meates,  without  their  sundry 
kindes  of  new  devised  sawces  little  esteemed  of,  they  must  have 
most  kindes,  not  onely  of  flesh,  but  also  of  fish  colde  and  sowced ; 
all  of  theese  being  more  delightful  to  the  sight  and  pleasing  to 
the  tast,  then  needefull  or  holesome  to  the  stomacke  and  body. 
And  I  doe  truly  affirme,  that  I  have  seene  all  the  kinds  of  meates 
here  set  downe  served  most  abundantly,  and  yet  some  of  the 
guestes  could  not  be  satisfied  therwith,  but  ther  must  presently 
be  provided  for  them  Sowes  cheekes,  Salt  tongues,  pickled  and 
redd  hearings,  Spratts,  Anchoves,  Bolonia  Sausages,  Potato 
rootes,  and  sundry  other  such  kinde  of  meates;  all  to  provoke 
them  to  drinke  store  of  strong  wines,  thereby  to  procure  lust, 
and  decay  naturall  strength.  .  ,"27 

The  cantankerous  Stubbes,  too,  set  out  to  fall  athwart  English 
shortcomings  in  general,  naturally  digresses  on  this  gluttony  — 
"Godly  hospitalitie, "  says  he,  "is  a  thing  in  no  wise  worthy  of 
reprehension,  but  rather  of  great  commendation ;  for  many  haue 
receiued  Angels  into  their  houses,  at  vnawares,  by  vsing  the  .same, 
as  Abraham,  Lot,  Tobias,  &  many  others.  Yet  if  hospitality 
flow  ouer  into  superfluitie  and  riotous  excesse,  it  is  not  tolerable : 
for  now  adaies,  if  the  table  be  not  couered  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  as  thick  as  one  dish  can  stand  by  another,  with  delicat 
meats  of  sundry  sorts,  one  cleane  different  from  an  other,  and 
to  euery  dish  a  seuerall  sawce  appropriat  to  his  kinde,  it  is 
thought  there  unworthye  the  name  of  a  dinner.  Yea,  so  many 
dishes  shal  you  haue  pesteruing  the  table  at  once,  as  the  insci- 
ablest  Helluo,  the  deurouringest  glutton,  or  the  grediest  cor- 
morant that  is,  can  scarce  eat  of  euery  one  a  litle.  And  these 

27  Brathwait,  Household,  of  an  Earle,  31-32. 


76  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [350 

many  shall  you  haue  at  the  first  course ;  as  many  at  the  second ; 
and,  peraduenture,  moe  at  the  third;  besydes  other  sweet  con- 
dyments,  and  delicat  confections  of  spiceries,  and  I  cannot  tell 
what.  And  to  these  dainties,  all  kind  of  wynes  are  not  wanting 
you  may  be  sure. ' ' 2S 

With  this  we  conclude,  and  if  we  have  had  vainly  to  long  for 
an  hour's  use  of  the  magic  pen  of  Dickens  or  Gissing,  at  least  we 
have  had  the  pale  satisfaction  of  noting  a  short  vision  of  our  own 
philosopher-poet.  When  Thoreau  declared  that  many  a  man 
should  rather  have  described  for  us  his  dinner  who  imposes  on 
us  with  a  history  of  the  Grand  Khan,  he  surely  saw  not  beyond 
the  tiny  confines  of  one  of  his  own  bean  skins  —  or  was  this 
ascetic  sarcasm  a  joke ! 


28  Anatomy  of  Abuses,  New  Shakespeare  Society,  Part  I,  102-103. 


CHAPTER  IV 


Thus  having  attained  a  regall  Dignity  to  commaunde  all,  which  continued 
as  aforesaid,  where  no  other  Captains  authority  endured  but  one  year:  he 
ever  kept  himself  upright  from  bribes  and  money,  though  otherwise  he  was 
no  ill  husband,  and  could  warily  looke  to  his  own.  As  for  his  Lands  and 
Goods  left  him  by  his  Parents,  that  they  miscarried  not  by  negligence,  nor 
that  they  should  trouble  him  much,  in  busying  himself  to  reduce  them  to  a 
value;  he  did  so  husband  them,  as  he  thought  was  his  best  and  easiest  way. 
For  he  sold  in  gross  ever  the  whole  years  profit  and  commodity  of  his  lands, 
and  afterward  sent  to  the  market  dayly  to  buy  the  cates,  and  other  ordinary 
provision  of  houshould.  This  dyd  not  like  his  Sones  that  were  men  grown, 
neither  were  his  women  contented  with  it,  who  would  have  had  him  more 
liberal  in  his  house ;  for  they  complained  of  his  overhard  and  straight 
ordinary,  because  in  so  noble  and  great  an  house  as  his,  there  was  never 
any  great  remain  left  of  meat,  but  all  things  received  into  the  house,  ran 
under  account,  and  were  delivered  out  by  proportion.  All  this  good  hus- 
bandry of  hia  was  kept  upright  in  this  good  order,  by  one  Evangelus, 
Steward  of  his  house,  a  man  very  honest  and  skilfull  in  all  his  household 
provision;  and  whether  Pericles  had  brought  him  up  to  it,  or  that  he  had 
it  by  nature,  it  was  not  known.* 

—  Plutarch's  Pericles  (North's  Translation). 

During  the  week  of  1587  ending  July  10th,  the  great  house- 
hold of  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  consumed  the  following  food :  two 
hundred  and  forty  bushels  of  wheat,  twenty-one  hogsheads  of 
beer,  two  oxen,  fourteen  veal  calves,  seventeen  sheep,  seven 
lambs,  three  ling  and  twenty  haberdine.  Fresh  fish  cost  18s, 
while  £8 :  4s :  8d  was  spent  for  special  food  including  butter  and 
cheese.2 

Selected  at  random,  this  provision  was  in  amount  somewhat 
above  the  average  weekly  expenditure  of  food,  which  from  July 

1 1  have  prefaced  this  chapter  with  the  quotation  from  North 's  famous 
translation  of  Plutarch  because  it  is  in  the  perfect  spirit  and  phrase  of  con- 
temporary household  accounts. 

2  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  30. 

77 


78  THE   HOUSEHOLD    OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [352 

to  December  of  1586  approximated  one  hundred  and  twelve 
bushels  of  wheat,  eight  and  three-quarter  hogsheads  of  beer, 
three-quarters  of  an  ox  or  cow,  nine  muttons,  and  so  on  propor- 
tionally, per  week.3  Such  were  the  characteristic  quantities  of 
bulk  food-stuffs  commonly  used  by  a  typical  noble  household.4 

An  expenditure  similar  to  this  guaranteed  the  cheerful  hos- 
pitality always  freely  extended  by  the  nobility  to  guests,  were 
such  visitors  friends  or  strangers.  The  entertainment  of  a  not- 
able individual,  however,  or  preeminently  of  the  sovereign,  en- 
tailed a  prodigal  outlay  of  food.  In  1577  the  Right  Honorable 
Lord  North  entertained  his  Sovereign  Lady,  Queen  Elizabeth,  at 
Kirtling.  Her  Majesty  arrived  on  Monday,  September  the  1st, 
in  time  for  supper,  and  remained  until  after  dinner  on  "Wednes- 
day of  the  same  week.  Judging  by  the  good  cheer  dispensed,  it 
was  fortunate  for  the  generous  peer  that  his  mighty  visitor  did 
not  remain  longer  beneath  his  roof,  or  a  miracle  alone  must  have 
preserved  him  from  famine.  During  those  memorable  two  days 
twelve  hundred  cast  of  manchets  and  thirty-six  hundred  cast  of 
cheat-bread,  made  at  Kirtling,  together  with  twenty-three  dozen 
loaves  of  white  and  cheat-bread  bought  up,5  were  eaten,  while  it 
required  seventy-four  hogsheads  of  beer,  two  tuns  of  ale,  six 
hogsheads  of  claret  wine,  one  of  .white  wine,  one  rundlet  or 
twenty  gallons  of  sack  and  six  gallons  of  Hippocras  to  slaken 
the  thirst  of  Royalty.  Twelve  steers  and  oxen,  sixty-seven  sheep, 
seven  lambs,  eighteen  veal  calves  and  thirty-four  pigs  were 
slaughtered,  while  the  meat  of  four  stags  and  sixteen  bucks, 
baked  up  into  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  pasties,  which  fur- 
ther required  three  pounds  worth  of  wheat  and  rye  flour  —  eight 
gammons  of  bacon,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  neat's  tongues, 
feet  and  udders,  supplied  the  more  delicate  flesh  fare. 

For  these  festivities  feathered  creation  suffered  an  appalling 
depletion:  thirty-two  geese,  three  hundred  and  sixty-three  ca- 
pons, ninety-nine  and  one-half  dozen  chickens,  two  hundred  and 
seventeen  dozen  pigeons,  twenty-seven  dozen  quail,  six  turkeys, 
thirty-two  swans,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  mallards  and 

s  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  13-18. 
*  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  101-105,  e.g. 

s  Halliwell,  Diet,  of  Archaic  Words,  "Caste  piece"  —  several  pieces  (or 
loaves)  joined  into  one. 


353]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  79 

young  ducks,  one  crane,  twenty-eight  heronsews,  one  hundred 
and  ten  bittern,  twelve  shovelers,  one  hundred  and  six  pewits, 
sixty-eight  godwits,  eighteen  gulls,  ninety-nine  dotterels,  eight 
snipe,  twenty-one  knots,  thirty-eight  plover,  five  stints,  eighteen 
redshanks,  two  tern,  twenty-two  partridge,  one  pheasant,  and  two 
curlews  were  eaten.  What  a  screaming,  quacking  uproar  were 
possible  from  such  a  contingent  of  terrified  fowls !  Some  one  put 
up  with  it  too,  for  part  of  this  winged  biped  menagerie  arrived 
alive  at  Kirtling,  and  his  lordship  paid  full  20s  for  "keping  off 
wylde  foule." 

A  goodly  store  of  sea-food  gave  variety  and  zest  to  the  menus. 
Three  kegs  of  sturgeon,  eight  dozen  cray-fish,  one  cart  load  and 
two  horse  loads  of  oysters,  a  barrel  of  anchovies,  two  pike,  two 
carp,  four  tench,  twelve  perch,  and  three  hundred  red  herrings 
were  made  away  with. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  four  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  of 
butter,  thirteen  pounds  of  lard,  two  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty- two  eggs,  one  hogshead  of  vinegar,  six  Holland  cheeses 
and  ten  marchpanes  were  dispensed,  while  thirty-nine  pounds, 
twenty-one  pence  was  spent  to  furnish  sufficient ' '  Grocerie  ware, 
banketting  stuff,  salletts,  rootes,  and  hearbes. ' ' 9 

Where  did  all  this  fare,  as  well  for  ordinary  use  as  for  great 
feasts,  come  from?  Purveyance  and  care  of  food  was  a  vital 
part  of  the  routine  business  connected  with  the  proper  running 
of  a  household.  The  whole  question  of  supplies  was  that  man- 
agement problem  which,  more  than  any  other,  occupied  the  time 
and  thought  of  the  noble  master  himself,  and  was  responsible  for 
the  existence  of  many  of  his  servants. 


Provision,  largely  according  to  the  nature  of  the  food  and  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  bought  up,  consisted  of  what  was  called 
the  "gross  emptions"  or  the  "food  of  store,"  and  the  "fresh 
acates";  or  simply  "cates" —  supplies,  usually  perishable,  pur- 
chased for  immediate  use  daily,  or  weekly,  by  a  special  servant, 
called  from  his  duties  the  achator  or  cator. 

Naturally  the  staple  portions  of  the  daily  rations  were  sup- 
plied from  the  store  food.  This  was  garnered  up  as  occasion  of- 

9  Extracts  from  Lord  North 's  Household  Book,  Archaeologia,  XIX,  287 
et  seq. 


80  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [354 

fered,  in  bulk,  the  estimated  quantities  of  the  various  sorts  re- 
quired by  a  household  being  nicely  determined  for  the  season  or 
for  the  entire  year  in  advance.  Thus  at  Michaelmas  in  1512, 
the  officials  charged  with  the  year's  management  of  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland's  house  were  ordered  to  lay  up  these  stores 
to  last  until  the  following  Michaelmas:  sixteen  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  thirty-two  bushels  of  wheat,  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  bushels  of  malt  —  and  as  the  earl 's  brewer 
made  twelve  hogsheads  of  beer  from  six  quarters  of  malt,  if  this 
liquor  seed  were  all  expended  in  the  manufacture  of  that  bever- 
age, twenty-seven  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-four  gallons, 
in  round  numbers,  were  the  year's  beer  prospect  —  an  average 
of  five  hundred  and  fifty-two  quarts  during  the  twelvemonth, 
for  each  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  household,  many  of  whom 
must  have  gone  exceeding  dry  on  less  than  one  and  one-half 
quarts  apiece  per  diem. 

In  addition  to  the  beer  provision,  however,  ten  tuns  and  six 
hogsheads  (1646  gallons)  represented  the  year's  store  of  Gascon 
wine,  which,  more  particularly  specified,  included  three  tuns  of 
red,  five  of  claret,  and  two  tuns  two  hogsheads  of  white  wine. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-four  beeves,  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  muttons,  twenty-five  hogs,  twenty-eight  calves  and  sixty 
lambs  were  to  be  provided  for  slaughter;  while  the  supply  of 
cured  fish  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  stock  fish, 
nine  hundred  and  forty-two  salt  fish,  ten  cades 10  of  red,  and  nine 
barrels  of  white  herring,  five  cades  of  sprats,  two  thousand  eighty 
salt  salmon,  three  ferkins  of  salt  sturgeon  and  five  kegs  of  salt 
eels. 

One  and  one-half  barrels  of  oil  for  frying  fish,  together  with 
the  same  amount  of  honey,  much  of  which  was  used  for  fish 
dressing,  was  deemed  sufficient.  "All  manner  of  Spices"  meant 
for  that  year,  fifty  pounds  of  pepper,  one  thousand  forty  score 
pounds  of  currants  or  ' '  raisins  of  Corinth, ' '  as  they  were  called, 
one  hundred  thirty-one  and  a  half  pounds  of  prunes,  twenty  and 
one-half  pounds  of  ginger,  six  pounds  of  mace,  three  and  one- 
half  pounds  of  cloves,  one  hundred  and  four  score  pounds  of 
sugar,  seventeen  pounds  of  cinnamon,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  pounds  of  almonds,  thirty  pounds  of  dates,  seven  pounds  of 

!<>A  cade  is  a  barrel  of  500  herrings,  or  1,000  sprats. 


355]  SUPPLY   PURVEYANCE  81 

' '  granes, ' ' "  ten  and  one-half  pounds  of  turnsole,  ten  pounds  of 
sanders,  three  pounds  of  anise  powder,  nineteen  pounds  of  rice, 
nineteen  and  one-half  pounds  of  comfits,12  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  Gallinga,13  two  pounds  of  blanch  powder,  three  pounds  of 
saffron,  and  finally,  with  all  this  "spice"  though  not  of  it,  might 
be  placed  the  four  coppets 14  each  of  figs  and  great  raisins  pur- 
chased. One  hundred  and  sixty  gallons  of  mustard  were  to  be 
manufactured  in  the  scullery,  provision  also  being  made  for 
ninety  gallons  of  verjuice,  and  forty  gallons  of  vinegar.  The 
latter,  if  possible,  was  to  be  evolved  from  the  wine  lags  or  lees. 
It  was  thought  that  six  and  one-half  quarters  of  white  and  ten 
of  bay  salt  would  suffice  for  a  year. 

It  was  widely  customary  among  the  nobles  to  estimate  along 
with  the  food  supplies  for  a  twelvemonth,  the  year's  stock  of 
fuel,  illuminating  materials,  necessary  linen  cloth,  dishes,  and 
various  other  commodities.  Thus  in  1512,  twenty  chawder 15  of 
sea-coal  and  twenty  quarters  of  charcoal  were  ordered  for  North- 
umberland. The  latter  fuel  was  for  burning  at  Christmas  time, 
when  the  arras  was  all  hung,  for  as  the  smoke  of  the  sea-coal 
ruined  the  hangings,  its  use  had  to  be  quit  —  a  good  commentary 
on  the  heating  arrangements  of  the  day!  Fagots  were  used  in 
baking  and  brewing,  three  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty 
bundles  being  required  for  such  operations  during  the  year; 
while  we  are  quaintly  informed  that  sixty-four  loads  of  great 
wood  was  necessary,  "bicause  colys  will  not  byrne  withowte 
wodd,"  which  precept  sounds  as  though  it  were  founded  on  ex- 

11"  'Granes'  are  probably  what  are  now  called  'Granes  of  Paradise,' 
small  pungent  seeds  brought  from  the  East  Indies,  much  resembling  Carda- 
mum  seeds  in  appearance,  but  in  properties  approaching  nearer  to  Pep- 
per."—  Bishop  Percy's  note  in  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  414-415. 
The  Bishop  quotes  Lewis 's  Materia  Medica,  p.  298. 

!2A  comfit,  according  to  Johnson,  is  "A  dry  sweetmeat;  any  kind  of 
fruit  or  root  preserved  with  sugar  and  dried." 

is  "'  Gallinga, '  Lat.  Galanga,  is  the  root  of  a  grassy-leaved  plant 
brought  from  the  East  Indies,  of  an  aromatic  smell,  and  hot  biting  bitterish 
Taste,  anciently  used  among  other  Spices.  .  ."  —  Northumberland  House- 
hold Book,  415. 

1*Coppet:  perhaps  for  "topnett,"  diminutive  for  "tope,"  a  tub  or 
cask?  Vide  Howard  Household  Books,  Surtees  Soc.,  45,  note. 

15  "Chawder"  —  caldron,  a  coal  measure  of  four  quarters  or  thirty-two 
bushels. 


82  THE   HOUSEHOLD    OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [356 

asperating  experience!  Furthermore  it  was  "ordained"  that 
thirty  sacks  of  charcoal  be  especially  provided  for  distilling  vari- 
ous waters  for  the  earl.  As  each  sack  held  four  bushels  of  coals, 
this  was  a  large  quantity  of  fuel  to  be  thus  expended.  Its  con- 
sumption, however,  made  possible  a  lusty  pharmacopoeia  to  de- 
light any  Galenite,  but  which  compels  us  to  write  down  the  earl 
a  veritable  English  "Argan'M  ".  .  .  the  Namys  of  the  said 
"Waters  that  his  Lordeshipe  is  accustomyd  to  caus  to  be  stillid 
yerly  Hereaf tur  Followith  Viz :  "Water  of  Roses  —  Water  for  the 
Stone  —  "Water  of  'Buradge' —  Water  of  Feminytory  (Fumi- 
tory) —  Water  of  Braks  (ferns)  — Water  of  Colymbyns  (Col- 
umbine) —  Water  of  Okynleefe  (Oak  Leaf)  — Water  of  Harts 
Tonge  —  Water  of  Draggons  —  Water  of  Parcelly  (Parsley)  — 
Water  of  Balme  —  Water  of  Walnot  Leeffs  (leaves)  — Water  of 
Lang  do  beeff  (Lang  Du  Boeuf)  — Water  of  Prymeroses  (Prim- 
roses) —  Water  of  Saige  (Sage)  — Water  of  Sorrel  —  Water  of 
Red  mynt  (Mint) — Water  of  Betany  (Betonica) — Water  of 
Cowslops  —  Water  of  Tandelyon  —  Water  of  Fennell  —  Water 
of  Scabios  (Scabious)  — Water  of  Elder  Flours  —  Water  of 
Marygolds  —  Water  of  Wilde  Tansey  —  Water  of  Wormwode  — 
Water  of  Woodbind  —  Water  of  Endyff  (Endive)  and  Water  of 
Hawsse  (Haws).  And  to  be  allowed  for  filling  of  every  Bottell 
of  Water  of  a  Pottell  a  pece  on  with  another  j  Bushell  of  cher- 
coill  After  iiij  Bushell  in  the  Sek  And  after  ij  Suaks  to  a  Quar- 
ter And  after  j  Quarter  for  stilling  of  every  viij  Bottells  with 
Water."16 

Light  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  earl  if  we  can  judge  from 
the  illuminating  power  lying  hid  in  the  four  thousand  eighty- 
seven  and  one-half  pounds  of  wax,  requiring  fifty-one  pounds  of 
wick  for  its  manufacture  into  sizes,17  prickets,18  quarions,19  and 
torches,  and  the  ninety-one  dozen  and  two  pounds  of  Paris 
candles  which  were  to  be  made  from  tallow  provided  by  the 
house.  The  torches  had  rosin  also  in  their  composition,  twenty- 
nine  pounds  of  which  was  ordered. 

That  year  it  was  decided  that  seventy  ells  of  linen  cloth  one 

IB  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  384-385. 

1T,  18,  is  All  candles.  A  "pricket"  was  a  candle  stand  from  which  the 
name  went  to  the  sort  of  light  used  with  it.  A  ' ( quarion ' '  was  a  square 
lump  of  wax  with  a  wick  in  the  middle,  later  known  at  a  "  mortice. ' '  — 
Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  219. 


357]  SUPPLY   PURVEYANCE  S3 

yard  wide  would  suffice  for  all  the  uses  to  which  such  material 
was  put.  From  this  amount  were  to  be  fashioned  eight  board 
cloths  for  the  Hall,  one  for  the  Knight's  board  in  the  Great 
Chamber,  a  ewery  cloth  and  two  towels  for  the  ewery  for  the 
earl  to  wash  with  at  meal  times,  four  towels  for  Carvers  and 
Sewers,  eighteen  napkins  one  yard  long  and  half  a  yard  broad, 
two  bearing  towels  for  the  pantry,  eight  pantry  towels  for  liv- 
eries, a  port-pane,  also  for  the  pantry,  and  two  dresser  cloths  for 
the  kitchen. 

The  estimate  for  dishes  included  an  order  for  hiring  what  was 
called  ' '  rough  vessel, ' '  whereby  forty  shillings  was  set  aside  for 
renting  one  hundred  dozen  of  such  utensils,  at  the  rate  of  four 
pence  a  dozen.  Three  special  occasions  necessitated  this  recruit- 
ment of  the  home  stock :  Christmas,  Easter  and  "Whitsunday,  at 
which  seasons  the  house  did  elaborate  entertaining.  In  addition, 
however,  two  new  brass  pots  were  to  be  purchased  outright,  as 
were  two  garnishes20  of  counterfeit  vessel,  the  order  for  the 
latter  being  placed  at  six  shillings  eight  pence  the  dozen.  Stone 
cruses  must  have  been  more  fragile  than  the  material  would 
imply  since  twenty  dozen  were  to  be  supplied  in  two  lots,  the 
first  to  serve  from  Michaelmas  to  Easter,  and  the  second  from 
then  on  to  Michaelmas  again.  These  were  at  the  moderate  cost 
of  ten  shillings  for  the  lot.  So  much  for  the  major  part  of  the 
year's  supplies  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland.21 

There  is  a  striking  similarity  between  this  provision  and  the 
bulk  stock  upon  which  the  Earl  of  Rutland  relied  one  full  cen- 
tury later.  Of  meat  —  seventy  beeves,  four  hundred  muttons, 
forty  lambs  and  thirty  hogs,  slaughtered  for  bacon,  pork  and 
brawn,  together  with  one  thousand  two  hundred  couple  of  rab- 
bits served  to  keep  Belvoir  from  vegetarian's  diet  for  a  twelve- 
month. 

The  store  fish  supply  for  the  same  period  included  four  hun- 
dred new  ling,  six  hundred  haberdine,  three  barrels  of  white 
herring,  three  cades  of  red  herring,  three  kegs  of  salt  eel,  six 
salt  salmon,  and  two  kegs  of  sturgeon.  The  numerical  contents 
of  the  kegged  stuff  presents  an  old-fashioned  arithmetical  prob- 

20 Harrison  describes  a  "garnish"  as  consisting  of  twelve  platters, 
twelve  dishes,  and  twelve  saucers.  —  Description  of  England,  Holinshed, 
1,  399.  ( 

21  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  3-27. 


84  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [358 

lem  of  no  little  interest.  Each  of  the  barrels  "ought  to  conteyn 
xc  (1100)  white  herrings  vi"  (120)  to  the  c  (100)  "!  The  fresh 
fish  most  commonly  eaten  were  pikes,  carp,  tench  and  bream,  but 
as  the  earl's  ponds  yielded  his  supply,  the  numbers  used  were 
not  given,  though  they  were  surely  known. 

Claret  was  the  largest  wine  item  of  the  liquid  store,  there  be- 
ing laid  up  each  year  four  and  one-half  tuns  of  that  liquor.  The 
earl  had  his  bill  of  impost  which  permitted  him  to  secure  eight 
tuns  a  year  at  forty  shillings  a  tun;  this  cost  was  further  in- 
creased however,  by  the  payment  of  twenty  shillings  to  the  Lord 
Treasurer's  man  (his  clerk?)  for  the  gift  of  the  bill,  while  the 
farmer  of  the  tax  received  two  shillings,  and  his  clerk  twelve 
pence  on  each  tun.  In  addition  to  this  claret,  two  butts  (108- 
126  gal.)  and  one  randlet  (c.  15  gal.)  each  of  Muscadien  and 
Rhenish  wine  were  bought. 

Three  hogsheads  of  vinegar  and  four  of  verjuice  was  the  an- 
nual quota  of  wet  spice,  while  the  usual  two  kinds  of  salt,  one 
quarter  of  the  bay,  and  five  quarters  of  the  white  was  the  year's 
measure. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  quarters  of  wheat,  four  quarters  of 
rye,  one  thousand  quarters  of  oats,  forty  quarters  of  pease,  and 
thirty-five  quarters  of  barley  —  such  was  the  cereal  order;  the 
largest  part  of  both  the  oats  and  pease  to  be  used,  probably,  for 
horse  feed.  Four  hundred  pounds  of  hops  would  make  three 
hundred  forty-two  and  three-tenths  hogsheads  of  beer  under  the 
brewer's  rule  at  Belvoir,  provided  it  were  all  used  for  beer,  but 
this  quantity  of  blossoms  with  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  quarters 
of  malt  laid  up,  sufficed  also  for  the  ale  and  march-beer  brew. 

The  earl  had  his  large  spice  order  consisting  of  eight  sugar 
loaves,  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  of  powdered  sugar,  sev- 
enty pounds  of  "raysons  soil,"  or  raisins  of  the  sun,  one  hun- 
dred pounds  of  Alicant  raisins,  seventy  pounds  of  currants, 
fifty  pounds  of  prunes,  eight  pounds  of  dates,  four  pounds  each 
of  cloves,  nutmegs  and  mace,  six  pounds  of  ginger,  sixty  pounds 
of  pepper,  twenty  pounds  of  rice,  ten  pounds  each  of  blue  figs 
and  almonds,  forty  pounds  of  barreled  figs,  four  and  one-half 
gallons  of  olives,  four  pounds  of  capers,  four  barrels  of  samphire, 
four  barrels  of  gerkins,  four  gallons  of  oil,  and  finally,  sixteen 
bushels  of  mustard  seed,  which  were  annually  ground  up  for 
this  favorite  spice. 


359]  SUPPLY   PURVEYANCE  85 

The  fuel  required  each  year  at  Belvoir  was  pit  and  charcoal, 
two  hundred  loads  of  the  first  and  twenty  loads  of  the  latter. 
Three  cords  of  wood  were  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  one 
load  of  the  charcoal.  It  was  burned  in  enormous  pits  which 
would  hold  from  fifteen  to  thirty  cords  of  wood  at  a  time.  The 
finished  product  fetched  twelve  shillings  a  load  at  the  "forge," 
while  the  cost  of  making,  including  felling  of  the  trees,  cording 
the  wood  and  coaling  the  pit,  was  six  shillings  a  load;  in  addi- 
tion, two  shillings  six  pence  was  charged  to  put  up  a  load  for 
hauling.  The  loads  of  pit  coal  were  not  large ;  as  the  earl  stated 
his  order  —  "xiij  corke  fulles  is  a  rooke,  and  nine  corkfulles  is 
three  quarters  and  an  ordinary  loade,  ...  A  rooke  of  colles 
ought  to  bee  ij  yeardes  high  and  a  yeard  and  quarter  square  by 
measure."  If  this  measure  were  adhered  to  in  bringing  home 
the  coal,  each  load  would  contain  about  one  and  one-fifth  cubic 
yards  of  coal,  or  if  they  loaded,  as  they  probably  did,  one  and 
three-quarters  loads  to  a  single  drawing,  they  then  would  each 
time  cart  about  two  and  one-sixth  cubic  yards  of  coal.  One  and 
three-quarters  loads  of  this  fuel  cost  two  shillings  eight  pence  at 
the  pits.  With  the  fuel  which  served  in  part  for  light,  the  earl 
needed  one  thousand  dozen  tallow  candles,  and  three  dozen 
torches  for  illumination  in  the  course  of  a  year. 

In  addition  to  these  food  supplies,  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  like 
the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  bought  up  various  other  pro- 
visions. Thus  seven  firkins  of  soap,  sixty  pounds  to  the  firkin, 
were  bought  annually.  This  amount  could  not  have  gone  very 
far,  especially  if  it  were  used  for  both  toilet  and  laundry  pur- 
poses. Seventy-four  pounds  of  starch  —  a  high  fallutin  sophis- 
tication unknown  in  the  5th  earl's  day  —  would  cook  up  into  a 
goodly  quantity  of  "devil's  liquor,"  but  that  much  was  used  in 
getting  up  the  household  ruffs  and  wrist-bands.  Finally  the 
earl  had  his  figure  for  iron,  steel,  drinking  glasses,  window  glass, 
lead,  brass  and  copper,  slate,  mats  for  the  chambers,  pitch  and 
tar,  shovels,  corn  sacks,  brooms,  ash  trees  (probably  young  sap- 
lings for  hop  vines),  well-rope,22  and  so  on,  and  while  Northum- 

22  Household  books  of  the  Earls  of  Eutland,  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eut- 
land,  4,  480-486.  Vide  Ordinances  for  the  Household  of  George  Duke  of 
Clarence,  in  Eoyal  Houselwld  Ordinances,  101  et  seq.,  for  similar  provision 
thus  brought  up. 


86  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [360 

berland  did  not  list  like  purchases,  the  only  item,  outside  of  the 
starch,  which  he  probably  could  not  have  had  was  the  glass. 

It  was  possible  to  do  this  extended  ordering  thus  in  advance, 
at  a  great  saving  of  time  and  money,  by  means  of  an  elaborate 
book-keeping,  which  recorded  accurately  all  the  provision 
brought  in  and  used,  as  well  as  the  amounts  of  all  supplies  left 
at  the  end  of  each  day,  week,  and  year.  By  studying  several  of 
these  accounts,  and  drawing  an  average,  it  was  relatively  as  easy 
to  estimate  with  a  margin  just  what  quantities  of  store  material 
must  be  ordered,  as  it  is  for  a  good  housewife  of  the  present  time 
to  tell  how  much  fruit  she  must  preserve,  or  how  many  bushels 
of  potatoes  to  secure  for  the  winter. 

It  was  earlier  noted  that  various  people  in  a  household  were 
responsible  as  well  for  the  purveyance  of  this  stock,  as  for  prop- 
erly looking  after  it  when  it  was  got  home.  Especially  impor- 
tant, however,  was  the  commissarial  role  zealously  played  by 
the  noble  master  of  an  establishment. 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  himself,  acting  with  his  do- 
mestic council,  decided  upon  all  the  yearly  provision  to  be  laid 
up  in  1512  for  his  establishment,  as  well  as  what  his  cator  ' '  par- 
cels" should  be.  He  approximated  the  prices  of  all  the  supplies, 
stated  when,  and  in  what  amounts  the  money  to  be  thus  expend- 
ed should  be  transferred  to  the  officials  ''standing  charged" 
with  his  house,  and  from  which  of  his  various  estates  such  sums 
were  to  be  due.  He  likewise  indicated  where  much  of  the  pro- 
vision was,  or  was  not,  to  be  procured. 

The  following  provision  for  weekly  observance  in  his  house- 
hold was  ordained:  "ITEM  that  the  saide  Clarkes  of  the 
Kechynge  shall  affore  they  maik  any  Barganne  for  Provision 
of  any  maner  of  gross  Empcion  for  kepinge  of  my  Loordes  Hous 
that  they  maik  my  Loorde  privey  theretoo  affore  the  Barganne 
be  concluded  to  th'  entent  that  they  may  knowe  whether  his 
Loordship  will  agre  to  the  said  prices  or  not  if  my  saide  Loorde 
be  at  home  ande  if  his  Loordeship  be  absennt  thanne  to  maik 
suche  of  his  Lordeship  Counsaill  or  Servaunts  that  my  said 
Loorde  leefs  in  trust  too  see  which  he  haithe  apointed  prevey  to 
the  said  Empcion  affore  the  Barganne  be  concluded  to  th '  ententt 
that  they  may  see  whether  they  have  maide  there  Bargans  in 
dewf ull  tyme  or  nott. ' ' 23 

23  Northumberland  Houseliold  Book,  116. 


361]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  87 

Laboring  carefully  with  his  assistants  for  some  time  before 
Michaelmas  of  1512  —  the  date  which  began  the  household  year, 
together  they  fashioned  the  specific  lists  already  presented  in  de- 
tail, prefacing  the  systematic  results  of  their  efforts  with  a 
courtly  praelusio  stately  enough  to  herald  the  birth  of  a  prince  : 

"THIS  IS  THE  ASSIGNMENTE  made  by  me  and  my  Coun- 
saill  at  Wresill  to  Richard  Gowge  Countroller  of  my  house  and 
Thomas  Percy  Clark  of  the  Kechyng  of  my  said  house  stondynge 
chared  with  my  said  house  Which  ys  for  the  hole  expensys  and 
kepynge  of  my  said  house  for  one  hole  Yere  begynnynge  on  Mon- 
day the  xxxth  day  of  September  which  was  Michaelmas  day  last 
past  in  the  thyrd  Yere  of  my  Soveraigne  Lorde  Kynge  Henry 
the  viijth  and  endynge  at  Michaelmas  next  cumynge  which  shal 
be  by  the  grace  of  God  in  the  iiijth  yere  of  my  said  Soveraigne 
Lorde  as  the  names  of  the  Parcells  that  they  shall  have  payd  by 
th'  hands  of  my  Cofferers  for  the  tyme  beynge  With  the  names 
of  the  Sommes  that  they  shall  pay  hereafter  folowyth  in  the 
Booke."24 

Only  to  supervise  the  securing  of  supplies  was  not  sufficient, 
however.  The  thrifty  expenditure  of  his  store  also  engaged  the 
earl's  earnest  attention.  He  and  his  council  determined  for  the 
entire  year,  and  carefully  stated,  the  breakfast,  dinner,  and  sup- 
per menus  for  all  eating  in  the  house;  this  included  the  special 
provision  which  religious  observance  demanded  for  Lent  with  its 
weekly  '  '  scambling  days,  "  25  in  addition  to  Rogation-day  fare, 
the  extra  dishes  for  principal  feasts,  and  the  livery  allowances 
as  well  of  food  as  of  lights  and  fuel.  In  fact,  in  regard  to  the 
latter  item,  the  earl  was  particularly  solicitous,  especially  when 
he  could  not  personally  direct  the  spending  of  his  store. 

From  Hallowmas  (November  1st)  until  Shrovetide  (the  period 
between  Quinquagessima  Sunday  —  the  last  Sunday  in  Lent, 
and  Ash  Wednesday)  the  household  did  not  reside  either  at  the 
Manor  of  Leckinfield  or  at  the  New  Lodge  in  the  park  there. 
Certain  servants  were  left  in  charge  of  those  residences,  how- 
ever, and  to  control  the  heating  supplies  thought  necessary  for 
this  three  month  interim,  a  descriptive  bill  was  drawn  up  under 


1-38. 

25  '  '  Scambling  Days  were  Days  when  no  regular  Mcais  were  provided, 

but  everyone  scrambled  and  shifted  for  himself.     .  .  "  —  Bishop  Percy  'a 
note  in  Northumberland  Household  Book.  416-417. 


88  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [362 

Northumberland's  direction,  and  signed  by  him,  which  for  re- 
dundant intricacy  could  be  excelled  only  by  a  verbose  Royal 
Proclamation.  The  title  alone  is  a  teeming  five-wheeled  master- 
piece : 

"THYS  YS  THE  BILL  OF  THE  NAMYS  of  the  HOUSES 
at  my  Lordes  Mannour  of  LECKINFELDE  at  his  Lordships 
NEW  LOGE  in  his  PARKE  ther  And  what  CHAMBERS  they 
be  which  shall  have  FIERS  kept  in  theym  yerly  And  how 
myche  FEWILL  shal  be  allowid  to  every  Hous  by  the  DAYE 
"Weke  and  Monneth  As  well  Billett  Wodde  as  Fagot  And  what 
Dais  in  the  Weke  they  shal  have  Fiers  made  in  them  at  all  such 
tymes  in  Winter  that  my  Lorde  lies  not  ther  Yerly  from  All- 
Hallowtide  to  Shraftide  As  the  Namys  of  the  said  Houses  And 
what  Houses  they  bee  And  what  every  of  them  shal  be  allowide 
by  the  Day  Weke  and  Monthe  And  what  Dais  they  shall  have 
Fiers  kept  in  theym  HEREAFTER  FOLLOWITH  in  this  BiU 
Signed  with  my  Lordes  Hande." 

This  was  making  a  Star-Chamber  matter  of  it  with  a  ven- 
geance! As  the  caption  purports,  the  bill  sets  forth  room  by 
room  those  chambers  in  both  mansions  which  shall  have  fires  — 
the  Leckinfield  list  includes  this  interesting  group  of  apartments : 
The  jewel  house,  my  lord's  library,  my  lady's  library,  my  lord's 
library  over  the  Chapel  door,  the  evidence  house  over  the 
Chapel  stair,  the  upper  and  nether  houses,  i.e.  stories,  of  the 
tower  in  the  garden,  the  inner  chamber  in  the  upper  house  of 
the  same,  the  wardrobe,  armory  and  vestry  —  within  these  eleven 
chambers  out  of  more  than  four  score,  cheerful  Loki  was  granted 
a  measured  tether.  Seven  rooms  in  the  New  Lodge  were  like- 
wise to  be  graced  by  his  warm  presence. 

The  straight  laced  document,  further,  in  accordance  with  the 
promise  of  its  title,  narrates  also  room  by  room,  the  days  of  the 
week  —  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday,  on  which  supplies  of 
wood  were  to  be  furnished  to  each  of  these  several  chambers ;  the 
precise  quantity  for  each  in  shides  and  fagots  with  the  price  of 
both  —  the  amounts  of  fuel  and  the  costs  being  estimated  for  the 
week,  month,  and  three  months ! 28 

26  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  377.  It  is  but  fair  to  relate  that 
this  detail  is  characteristic  of  this  whole  household  book  and  also  of  many 
others. 


363]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  89 

Finally,  it  would  seem  under  the'  law  of  inertia,  the  bill  con- 
cluded with  a  reiterative  summary,  stating  first  all  the  fuel  in 
shides  and  fagots  to  be  consumed,  then  the  whole  quantity  of 
either  sort  allowed  for  the  Manor  and  Lodge  respectively  to- 
gether with  the  total  cost  —  three  shillings,  which  is  a  comical 
reductio  ad  absurdum,  a  tiny  mouse  brought  forth  with  majestic 
reverberating  travail  by  this  mountainous  book-keeping ! 27 

The  finickin  exactitude  of  these  regulations  safeguarded  ex- 
penditures of  the  fuel  which  probably  were  entrusted  to  servants 
alone;  Northumberland,  however,  had  his  wood  and  coal  stores 
carefully  estimated  for  the  summer  and  winter  use  of  the  house- 
hold proper. 

What  was  called  the  "whole  livery"  of  fuel  —  that  is,  the 
regulation  daily  delivery  for  winter  consumption,  began  to  be  is- 
sued at  Allhallows,  and  ran,  full  tilt,  to  Lady-Day  in  Lent ; 28 
from  this  latter  date,  until  Allhallows  again,  the  summer,  or 
"half  liveries"  were  issued.  During  the  winter  the  entire  estab- 
lishment received  its  quota  of  coals,  or  wood  and  coal  both, 
worked  out  with  the  usual  great  care.  To  "My  Lordes  great 
Chambre  where  he  dyeneth"  went  daily,  one  shide  of  wood  and 
one  bushel  two  pecks  of  coals,  the  allowance  for  "My  Ladys 
Chamber  where  she  lyeth"  and  for  his  Grace's  room  "where  he 
maketh  hym  redy ' '  being  somewhat  more  generous  —  two  shides, 
one  bushel  and  three  pecks,  each. 

The  nursery  was  heated  only  "if  my  Lordes  childer  be  by- 
neth,"  in  which  pleasant  exigency  two  pecks  of  coals  was  its 
supply.  One  peck  of  coals  had  to  suffice  each  of  the  great  of- 
ficers of  the  household,  except  the  Chamberlain,  who  was  allowed 
a  shide  and  two  pecks.  So  on,  with  the  rest  of  the  household, 
down  to  the  kitchen,  bake  and  brew  houses,  whither  generous 
supplies  of  fuel  were  carted,  at  least  on  busy  days;  thus  in  the 
brew  house,  at  every  brewing,  four  score  and  sixteen  fagots  were 
consumed.  How  delightful  those  glowing  precincts  on  a  bleak 
wintry  day  —  where  savory  food  or  well-bodied  drink  were 
toward!  But  against  the  yearning  temptation  for  servants  to 
loiter  near  such  genial  comfort,  stood  the  stringent  rules  of  the 
establishment,  and  the  steadfast  training  of  the  officers. 

27  Northumberland  Household  Book,  377-385. 
id.,  99-101. 


90  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [364 

The  half,  or  "summer  liveries"  of  fuel,  were  issued  only  to 
the  chambers  of  the  earl  and  his  lady,  to  my  Lord  Percy's  room, 
the  nursery,  and  his  Grace's  library.  "What  a  vigorous  estab- 
lishment this,  to  have  nourished  under  so  skimpy  a  fuel  pro- 
vision, housed,  as  it  was,  in  a  stone  castle,  moat  engirt,  in  the 
northernmost  county  of  England,  defying  the  winter's  rages 
until  Allhallows,  and  heralded  to  spring,  whether  or  no,  on  the 
25th  of  March!  And  then  Harrison  with  that  age-old  per- 
versity, bewails  those  ancient  days,  when  stalwart  Englishmen 
dwelt  not  in  the  snug  comfort  of  oaken-ribbed  houses ! 

It  was  likewise  to  guard  against  extravagance  that  the  earl's 
keen  eye  searchingly  scanned  the  mistakes  made  by  the  manage- 
ment in  the  conduct  of  this  entire  department  during  the  year 
just  ended.  Whether  the  error  lay  in  the  purveyance  of  the 
supplies,  or  was  due  to  the  ignorance  or  neglect  of  a  servant 
charged  with  handling  the  stock,  Northumberland  noted  it  and 
tersely  declared  its  remedy. 

Apparently  the  bakers  and  brewers  had  been  careless ;  at  any 
rate,  some  bread  and  beer  had  been  bought  up  outside;  hence- 
forth the  home  product  must  suffice.  Furthermore  when  trencher 
bread  was  baked,  the  flour  for  it  was  to  be  used  as  it  came  from 
the  mill  —  that  is,  unbolted. 

"What  appears  to  have  been  some  underhand  work  on  the  part 
of  a  purveyor  was  detected  in  connection  with  the  fish  supplies ; 
no  longer,  when  salt-fish  was  high  priced,  was  stock  fish  to  be 
bought  because  it  was  cheaper  —  the  implication  being  that  pro- 
vision had  been  made  for  the  salt-fish.  Neither,  in  the  future, 
were  red  and  white  herring  and  sprats  to  be  purchased  for  serv- 
ing either  at  breakfasts  or  on  scrambling  days  in  Lent  or  for 
regular  use  during  other  seasons,  to  thereby  avoid  supplying 
enough  sea  and  fresh  water  fish. 

During  1511  the  whole  household  had  been  indiscriminately 
living  on  the  fat  of  the  land,  but  from  then  on  no  lambs  were  to 
be  bought  when  they  were  dear,  except  for  Northumberland's 
board,  and  the  fare  of  his  Steward  and  Chamberlain,  while  it 
was  briefly  enjoined  "that  their  be  no  common  service  of  theym 
thrugh  the  hous. ' ' 

Thrift  forbade  what  had  been  a  wanton  wasting  of  white  salt 
during  the  past  year.  This  commodity  was  henceforth  to  be 


365]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  91 

used  only  in  the  pantry  and  "for  seasonynge  of  meate  or  for 
castyng  upon  meit."  Stringent  ordinance  declared  that  the 
"broken  wine"  in  my  lord's  house  be  converted  into  vinegar, 
the  clerks  of  the  establishment  providing  the  lags  for  that  pur- 
pose, these  same  having  first  been  duly  marked  by  those  servants 
"after  thei  be  past  drawyng  that  thei  can  be  set  no  more  of 
broche. ' ' 

It  was  probably  the  heavy  breakage  of  the  earthen  pots  in 
which  livery  food  was  served,  which  instituted  the  commission  to 
provide  leather  pots  for  them,  i.e.  in  which  to  set  them;  while  a 
promiscuous  freedom  in  renting  pewter  dishes  led  to  a  re-naming 
of  those  four  festivals  on  which  alone  the  house  hired  extra  ware. 
A  similar  mismanagement  called  forth  a  rehearsal  of  the  estab- 
lished rule  in  regard  to  the  purchase  of  counterfeit  vessels,  with 
its  careful  injunction  to  keep  the  same  in  the  counting  house 
during  the  wide  intervals  between  their  quadriannual  festival 
service.29 

Other  orders  by  the  earl  to  assure  the  economical  consumption 
of  all  the  provisions  will  be  later  noted.  It  is  sufficient  here  to 
observe  that  no  rule  which  a  wise  frugality  could  suggest  was 
left  unframed.  The  baker  must  answer  his  six  hundred  and 
forty  manchets,  two  in  a  loaf  out  of  every  quarter  of  wheat  de- 
livered to  him,  a  like  mathematical  exactitude  measuring  the 
household  and  trencher  bread.  The  brewer  had  also  his  stead- 
fast gauge,  while  the  butcher  learned  to  a  whack  how  many 
"stroks  shal  be  strikkyn"  out  of  every  beast  transformed  by  his 
cleaver  art  from  a  lively  creature  into  a  carcass,30  a  similar 
chart  being  likewise  furnished  to  that  individual  whoever  he  may 
have  been  who  cut  up  the  cured  fish.31 

While  making  no  pretense  at  completeness,  these  details  well 
reflect  the  character  of  that  control  from  headquarters  which  a 
great  nobleman,  like  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  exercised 
over  his  supplies.  This  was  a  duty  punctiliously  performed  by 
many  if  not  all  of  the  nobility.  In  February  of  1586,  Edward 
Earl  of  Derby  signed  Household  Regulations  several  of  which 
touch  this  department  directly.32  On  May  12,  1587,  his  successor, 

29  Northumberland  Household  Book,  55-58. 
so  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  134-135. 
si  Ibid.,  135. 
32  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  8-10. 


92  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [366 

the  Earl  Henry,  formally  kept  or  amended  these  to  suit  his 
needs.33  George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  Lord  John  Howard  of 
Stoke,  all  of  the  nobles,  in  fact,  whose  household  accounts  have 
been  preserved,  demanded  an  efficiency  in  this  respect  only  to 
have  been  attained  through  similar  regulations  though  such  rules 
were  not  always  so  carefully  formulated. 

In  securing  and  looking  after  their  supplies,  however,  these 
noble  householders  by  no  means  confined  themselves  to  the  cir- 
cumscribed bounds  of  the  pilot,  effective  and  necessary  as  was 
direction  from  that  vantage.  In  fact  the  many  busy  hours  de- 
voted by  Lord  John  Howard  of  Stoke  to  the  personal  transac- 
tion of  much  of  his  entire  provision  business,  stand  immutable 
witnesses  to  the  painstaking  industry  of  certain  of  these  old 
Tudor  aristocrats.  Each  was  on  his  own  behalf  a  zealous  worker, 
shirking  no  task  of  this  sort,  however  trivial,  nay,  mean,  it  may 
have  been. 

Among  the  numerous  provision  works  to  which  Lord  Howard 
at  times  devoted  his  personal  attention  was  his  fish  supply.  It 
has  already  been  pointed  out  that  fish  of  all  sorts  was  one  of  the 
largest  staple  foods  of  the  nobility.  We  have  also  noted  that  the 
fresh  fish  most  commonly  eaten  were  carp,  tench,  pike,  bream, 
and  perch.  A  constantly  available  supply  of  these  was  secured 
by  stocking  artificial  ponds,  moats,  or  other  waters  on  the  estates 
with  such  varieties.  By  maintaining  a  progression  or  series  of 
these  little  fisheries,  several  were  always  ripe.  These  could  be 
fished,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  ponds,  simply  broken  open,  the  water 
drained  off,  and  the  necessary  fish  easily  taken.  The  constant 
care  given  to  this  sort  of  thing  accounts  for  the  steady  employ- 
ment by  all  of  the  nobles  of  pond  makers  and  pond  "casters"  or 
cleaners. 

Stock  material  for  maturing  at  home  could  be  secured  from 
men  who  made  a  business  of  fish  culture,  while  presents  of  such 
young  fish  were  also  exchanged  among  friends.  At  Belvoir  in 
1611,  Croxton,  "Westminster,  and  Besk  Park  ponds,  Rossel  sick 
(brook)  and  Clipsome  dam  supplied  fresh  fish  for  the  Earl  of 
Rutland.  These  waters,  stocked  with  such  numbers  of  bream, 
tench,  pike,  and  carp  as  were  necessary,  were  located  either,  like 
"Westminster  pond,  on  the  demesne,  or  like  Croxton,  on  tenant 
lands.  The  earl  purchased  store  fish  from  Paul  Robinson  of 

33  Ibid.,  20-22. 


367]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  93 

Crowland  and  Holland,  Lincoln  Cot,  who  charged  twelve  pence, 
two  shillings,  six  pence,  and  two  shillings  apiece  for  pike,  bream, 
tench,  and  carp  respectively,  and  in  that  year  Rutland  was  pay- 
ing one  Robert  Bingham  a  yearly  wage  of  five  pounds  for  look- 
ing after  his  ponds.34 

Between  1462  and  1472  Lord  John  Howard  had  fish  in  some  ten 
different  waters;  among  these  were  his  mill  pond,  the  "greatest 
pond  in  the  park,"  two  at  "Sprottes,"  the  long  moat  at  Over- 
bury  Park,  that  in  the  close  garden,  another  pond  called  "Jan- 
enes,"  and  the  brick  pond.  In  addition  to  these,  in  1465  his 
lordship  was  agreed  with  a  man  known  as  Snelle  of  Leyham, 
for  ponds  belonging  to  him  and  his  mother.  Howard  secured 
the  right  to  store  these  ponds  and  break  them  open  when  he 
chose,  paying  four  pence  a  year  for  the  privilege.35 

During  the  decade  under  consideration,  Howard  stocked  his 
own  ponds  and  tended  personally  to  the  removal  of  his  fish. 
On  May  15,  1462,  he  himself  put  in  his  mill  pond  two  hundred 
roach,  eighty  tench,  forty  perch,  twelve  each  of  great  and  small 
breams,  forty-seven  great  carp,  twenty-three  great  tench,  and 
later,  twenty-five  more  great  tench. 

Sometimes  an  old  pond  was  opened  up  simply  to  transfer  some 
stock  to  a  new  water,  or  to  take  out  the  big  fish  and  restock  with 
small  ones.  Thus  Howard  himself  narrates  such  an  operation: 
"And  the  vij  yere  of  the  Kenge,  xxviij.  of  Janever,  (Ed.  4th, 
1467-1468)  I  breke  myne  greteste  ponte  in  the  parke,  and  howete 
of  that  I  toke  in  grete  bremes,  Ixv.  And  pote  theme  in  to  the  mel 
ponte  the  wesche  is  new  mad ;  and  I  pote  the  same  day  into  the 
same  ponte  vj  grete  karpes;  and  the  same  day  I  pote  into  the 
same  ponte  in  lytel  Karpes  xijxx  (240)  And  in  grete  tensches  the 
same  tyme  xliij  (43)  In  small  tensches  xx,  In  lytel  bremetes  Ixij, 
In  roches  xiij"  (260),  In  perches  vjxx  (120)  "  —  and  then  with 
a  conclusion  worthy  of  an  assize  —  "  Al  thes  is  at  thes  hower  and 
day  in  the  mel  ponte"! 

Again  a  clerk  notes  that  on  October  8,  1462,  his  master  "brake 
his  hederest  ponde  at  Sprottes  .  .  .  and  lete  nat  owte  alle 
the  water,  wherfore  he  lete  ther  in  serteyn  grete  carpes  and 
many  oder  smale,  and  muche  ffrye. ' ' 

Lord  John  seems  to  have  been  particularly  successful  with  his 

s*  Rutland  Household  Books,  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  482. 
35  Howard  Household  Books,  560-564,  for  these  and  following  facts. 


94  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [368 

ponds  and  he  practised  a  generosity  with  his  stock  whereby  sev- 
eral folk,  at  least,  profited.  On  September  27,  1465,  he  gave 
away  eighty-four  store  carp  —  fifty  to  ' '  my  Lady  Waldgrave, ' ' 
twelve  to  Thomas  Moleyns,  twelve  to  "Chelone,"  and  ten  to 
"Chateryse." 

Howard's  interest  in  his  fish  supply  brought  him  more  work 
than  merely  caring  for  his  ponds.  He  frequently  bought  up 
cured  fish  for  his  store,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  play  cator  if 
chance  offered  a  tempting  fresh  fish  bargain.  On  July  4,  1482, 
he  paid  a  man  of  Downich,  at  Colchester,  twenty-one  shillings 
eight  pence,  neatly  acquiring  therefor  sixty-two  salt  fish,  whereas 
he  had  paid  but  for  fifty ;  his  wary  servant  going  to  fetch  these 
home  succeeded  in  further  boosting  the  purchase  up  to  sixty-six 
while  the  fish  were  being  told  off ! 38  Our  haggling  country  folk 
of  to-day  have  in  truth  aristocratic  if  antique  precedent  for 
their  thrifty  penchant. 

In  March  of  1483  Howard  gave  twenty  shillings  "to  John 
Spysers  wiff,  of  Hadleyth,"  for  fifty  stock  fish.37  This  seasoned 
dame  was  evidently  experienced  in  the  ways  of  her  craft,  and 
doesn't  appear  to  have  been  in  the  least  daunted  by  the  august 
presence  of  a  great  noble,  for  we  hear  of  no  such  Christian 
measure  as  that  to  which  the  fisherman  at  Colchester  submitted. 

Likewise  in  March  of  this  same  year  Howard  secured  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  powdered  cod  from  ' '  a  man  of  the  coast, ' ' 
who  was  at  the  Hyth,  a  Colchester  ordinary.  On  this  occasion, 
however,  his  lordship  only  directed  the  bargain,  the  actual  buy- 
ing being  done  by  one  Barker  of  the  inn  who  owed  Lord  John 
a  debt.  The  fish  cost  forty  shillings  —  more  than  discharging 
the  debt  by  six  shillings  and  eight  pence,  which  Howard  prompt- 
ly paid.38 

Perhaps,  finally,  it  might  be  only  a  small  purchase,  like  that 
on  December  25th,  1481,  when  Howard  gave  one  Lalford  five  shil- 
lings to  pay  ' '  a  pike  man  of  Ippiswech ' '  for  twenty  eel  and  some 
small  eel  which  were  for  some  pond  or  other39  —  or  the  three 
shillings  six  pence  Howard  himself  paid  on  March  2nd,  1483,  to  a 
pike  monger  for  six  pickerel.40  So  much  for  the  fish. 

SB  Howard  Household  BooJcs  (Collier),  214. 
37  Howard  Houseliold  Boolcs  (Collier),  362. 
ss  Ibid.,  371-372. 

39  Ibid.,  143. 

40  Ibid.,  362. 


369]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  95 

Most  of  the  mutton  which  supplied  the  tables  at  Stoke  was 
raised  on  the  place.  In  fact  Howard  went  into  sheep  raising  on 
no  small  scale  for  his  day,  and  his  interest  in  the  numbers  and 
condition  of  his  stock  was  natural.  With  what  a  justifiable 
pride  and  satisfaction  must  he  have  entered  with  his  own  hand 
the  memorandum  of  September  of  1465  which  chronicled  the 
numerical  status  of  his  folds  to-date : 

" .  .  .  the  nexte  fry  day  be  fore  Mekelmes  day,  I  ad  at  Bray 
and  in  the  kontery  a  bowte,  morre  than  xi.c  (1100)  schepe  And 
thereof  ware  morre  than  v.c  (500)  wedderes."41  On  December 
17th,  1482,  likewise  through  his  own  memorandum  he  displayed 
his  characteristic  sharp  surveillance  over  stock  buying.  Enter- 
ing what  apparently  had  been  a  servant's  order,  he  writes: 
' '  And  so  Wateken,  bocher,  schal  sende  me  for  my  iii j  markes  xx. 
good  wedderes  to  Brames  place  at  Boxsted :  the  most  be  worthe 
ij.scviij.d  a  pese. "  42 

This  busy  Suffolk  nobleman  had  also  a  deft  hand  at  turning  a 
grain  bargain.  The  tremendous  consumption  of  cereal  staples 
in  a  great  household  could  rarely  be  supported  .solely  by  crops 
raised  on  a  lord's  estates.  That  noble  who  devoted  much  of  his 
lands  to  stock  raising  was  especially  liable  to  be  dependent  on 
the  outside  world  for  grain.  At  any  rate,  corn  often  in  large 
quantities  had  to  be  secured  by  many  of  the  nobility  from  beyond 
their  own  farms.  This  was  the  case  at  Stoke,  and  Lord  John 
Howard  did  not  always  rest  the  responsibility  for  its  purchase 
entirely  on  his  Steward. 

On  October  13th,  1482,  he  personally  paid  Sir  Thomas  Beston 
of  Wulpet,  3£  :15s,  for  twenty  quarters  of  barley,43  while  earlier 
in  the  same  month  he  made  a  covenant  with  a  debtor,  one  John 
Beere,  "before  Mastr  Rysley  at  Lynne,  as  it  perith  be  a  byll 
wretyn  be  on  of  his  clerkes, ' '  whereby  Beere  promised  to  pay  him 
on  his  debt,  five  seam  (sack  of  eight  bushels)  each  of  barley,  oats, 
wheat,  and  haras,44  for  all  of  which  Howard  was  to  allow  him  the 
Sudbury  market  price.45 

His  lordship  readily  contracted  for  grain  on  church  livings. 

41  Howard  Household  Boolcs,  555. 

42  Howard  Household  Boolcs,  328. 

«  Howard  Household  Boolcs  (Collier),  299. 

44  "Haras" —  horse-feed,  from  haras,  a  stud? 

45  Howard  Household  Boolcs  (Collier),  298. 


96  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [370 

In  October  of  1481  he  bought  of  the  parson  of  "Berfolte" 
twenty  quarters  of  wheat,  and  took  that  mercantile  servant  of 
God,  forty  shillings  in  hand.46  Again  in  late  May  of  the  next 
year,  Howard  purchased  from  ' '  Syr  Perys  Aleghe,  pryst  .  .  . 
all  the  cornys  and  greynys  of  the  paryche  of  Foisted  for  this  yer 
folewyng  fore  the  whiche  [he]  chall  have  of  my  Lord  xv 
marks,  .  .  . " 47  and  also  determined  the  amount  over  which 
two  men  of  the  parish  were  at  a  point  with  the  cleric,  for  their 
tithes ;  perhaps  he  himself  got  the  tithes ;  at  any  rate  the  transac- 
tion left  Lord  John  the  priest's  debtor  to  the  extent  of  ten 
pounds.  Howard  paid  five  pounds  to  him  then,  and  on  January 
4th  of  the  next  year  dismissed  the  bill  by  a  further  payment  of 
4£ :  6s :  8d.  In  the  interim  some  other  money  appears  to  have 
changed  hands  between  the  two,  for  on  the  latter  date  Howard 
shrewdly  recorded  that  the  priest  was  contented,  that  is,  paid  up, 
".  .  .  saff  only  my  Lord  soposeth  that  he  hath  vjsrviijd  more 
and  his  dewte,  and  if  it  can  be  fownde  in  my  Lordes  bokes,  he 
must  make  it  good  ageyn  to  my  Lord"  48  —  a  rather  close  shear- 
ing of  the  poor  ecclesiastic ! 

Finally,  through  an  obscure  transaction,  also  in  1483,  likewise 
conducted  by  Howard  himself,  he  received  a  large  consignment  of 
twenty-five  quarters  of  wheat,  which  was  apparently  paid  for  in 
salt,  the  necessary  quantities  of  which  were  disposed  of  by  two 
men  named  Gauge  and  Patton,  who  likewise  bought  the  grain.49 
The  bargain  involved  some  10£,  which  was  a  large  sum  of  money 
to  be  spent  on  a  single  grain  purchase. 

When  Parliament  duty  called  Lord  Howard  to  London,  he 
frequently  took  advantage  of  his  temporary  residence  in  the  cap- 
ital to  look  after  his  wine  supplies.  In  April  of  1482  he  paid  to 
one  Matok,  in  the  city,  twenty-five  marks  for  two  and  one-half 
tuns  of  wine,50  while  in  February  of  the  year  following  he  sent 
home  to  Stoke  a  pipe  of  red  and  a  hogshead  of  claret  wine.51 

A  London  visit  was  also  a  capital  opportunity  to  have  a  ' '  reck- 
oning" with  grocer  Sandes  in  Cheapside,  from  whom  all  of  How- 
ard's "spice"  was  purchased,  with  but  one  exception  during  the 

46  Ibid.,  118. 

47  Ibid.,  208-209. 

48  Ibid.,  337. 

49 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  321. 
so  Ibid.,  354. 
01  Ibid.,  484. 


371]  SUPPLY   PURVEYANCE  97 

years  1481-1483.  The  reason  for  Sandes's  little  monopoly  was 
that  he  rented  his  shop  with  its  hall  above  stairs  from  Howard, 
who,  in  country  doctor  fashion,  simply  " turned"  his  bill.  On 
February  21,  1483,  his  lordship  had  an  accounting  with  his  ten- 
ant, and  through  this  it  was  made  clear,  item  by  item,  that 
Sandes  had  a  debit  account  of  14£  :14s  :5d  against  his  landlord ; 
this  included  3£:8s:7}4d  which  Howard  owed  him  "of  old"  — 
"as  it  pereth  in  the  gret  rede  booke" —  charges  for  sundry  gro- 
cery items  delivered  in  the  course  of  the  last  year,  and  the  costs 
for  some  little  repairs  about  the  shop  which  Sandes  had  paid ;  all 
this  duly  viseed,  it  was  patent  to  all  concerned,  after  subtracting 
10£,  the  year's  rental  for  the  stand,  that  Lord  John  still  owed  his 
tenant  4£:14s:5d,  which,  with  gracious  accommodation,  he  al- 
lowed to  apply  on  next  year's  rent.52 

Like  all  of  the  nobility,  Lord  John  Howard  was  interested  in 
his  brewing,  and  he  himself  often  bought  up  the  necessary  hops 
for  that  important  home  industry.  In  April  of  1481  he  secured 
five  hundred  and  sixty-two  pounds  of  blossoms  from  a  Colchester 
man  by  the  name  of  Whitefoot,  who  received  3£  for  his  sale. 
Howard  was  short  of  money  in  pocket  that  day,  for  after  sub- 
tracting 33s  :4d  from  a  debt  which  the  hop  man  had  owed  him  for 
some  time,  he,  in  turn,  had  to  make  suit  to  one  of  his  servants 
who  fortunately  was  at  hand,  for  the  balance,  26s  :8d ! 53  Again 
on  August  23rd,  1483,  Howard  paid  18s,  also  at  Colchester,  for 
two  hundred  pounds  of  hops,5*  and  the  year  before  he  seems  to 
have  been  attempting  the  culture  of  the  vines  himself,  though  ap- 
parently without  much  success.  In  March  of  1482  he  paid  his 
Steward  2d.  ' '  for  setting  of  vii j  hopps. ' ' 55 

The  great  quantities  of  fuel  consumed  at  Stoke  in  heating, 
baking,  and  brewing  passed  under  his  tally.  Again  and  again  he 
has  his  reckoning  with  the  hired  woodmen  who  prepared  it  for 
use.  Perhaps  a  settlement  was  made  with  Nicholas  Root,  who  in 
April  of  1481  had  made  "xix  c  (1900)  wode"  —  bundles  of 
fagots,  probably,  and  whose  pay  to  date,  7s  :4d,  left  still  a  little 
balance  due  him.56  Or  again,  it  may  have  been  that  accounts 

52 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  351-353. 

53  Ibid.,  56. 

s*  Ibid..  433. 

55/fetd.,  171. 

se Howard  Hou-selwld  BooJcs  (Collier),  51. 


98  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [372 

were  squared  with  William  Sherman,57  Richard  Whiting,58  Rob- 
ert Gyrleynghouse,59  or  Hary  Quylter  who  was  paid  4s.  on  De- 
cember 24th,  1482, ' '  for  bryngenge  in  xj  quarters  of  coles  made  of 
my  Lordes  owne  woode. ' ' 60 

Howard's  interest  in  his  wood  pile  and  coal  sacks  is  but  one 
manifestation  of  his  tight  grasp  on  the  purveyance  of  other  than 
food  supplies.  Were  there  dishes  to  be  rented  or  purchased  he 
frequently  attended  to  that  business.  Here  his  practices  acquaint 
us  with  a  universal  custom  at  once  quaint  and  curious.  New 
pewter  vessel,  the  commonest  sort  of  table  ware  used  among  the 
nobles  during  this  period,  was  ordinarily  purchased  by  each 
household  at  least  once  a  year.  It  was  sold  by  weight  usually  in 
garnishes,  and  so  much  was  allowed  by  the  pewterer,  also  accord- 
ing to  weight,  for  old  dishes  in  exchange.  One  of  Howard's 
clerks  noted  that  on  January  llth,  1483,  his  ".  .  .  Lorde  rek- 
ened  with  Willm  Revett,  pewterer  of  Ypswiche,  for  pewter  vessel 
that  he  had  delyvered  to  the  kechyn  before  Crystemasse,  in  new 
vessell  of  on  sorte,  ij.  doss,  new  platers,  and  xxiij.  new  dyshes  of 
a  nothir  sorte,  and  xij  new  dyshes  of  a  nothir  sorte ;  of  which  at 
this  day  ther  lakkyth  one,  and  xvij.  new  sawsers,  wherof  lakketh 
on  at  this  day :  for  the  chaunge  of  whyche  ther  was  delyverd  the 
same  day  xvij.  olde  platers,  xij.  olde  dyshes,  and  viij.  old  saw- 
sers, the  whiche  weyid  lviij.lb.di. ;  and  the  vesselle  before  said 
weyid  iiij.xxviij.lb.di. ;  and  so  ther  remayned  to  hym  xxx.ib.  of  the 
new  vessell,  for  which  my  Lord  paid  hym  the  same  day,  for  every 
Ib.iij.d.  Summa  vij.s  vj.d. 

Item,  my  Lord  paied  hym  for  the  exchaunge  of  the  lviij.lb.di. 
iiij.s.x.d.  Summa  totall  xij.s.iiij.d."  61 

This  pewter  ware  was  wrought  in  Tudor  days  with  an  excel- 
lence appreciated  as  well  abroad  as  in  England.  Harrison  af- 
firms that  ' '  In  some  places  beyond  the  sea  a  garnish  of  good  flat 
English  pewter  of  an  ordinarie  making  ...  is  esteemed  al- 
most so  pretious,  as  the  like  number  of  vessels  that  are  made  of 
fine  siluer,  and  in  maner  no  lesse  desired  amongst  the  great 
estates,  whose  workmen  are  nothing  so  skilfull  in  that  trade  as 

57/&U2.,   51. 

88  Tbid.,  142. 

59/6id.,  326. 

eo  Ibid.,  332-333. 

6i  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  340.     Vide  also  331,  421. 


373]  SUPPLY   PURVEYANCE  99 

ours,  neither  their  mettall  so  good,  nor  plentie  so  great,  as  we 
haue  here  in  England. ' ' 62  However  this  may  have  been,  pewter 
is  not  a  very  enduring  substance.  Easily  marred  by  scratching 
and  denting,  a  whole  service  of  such  metal  in  regular  use  must 
soon  have  presented  a  battered,  dingy,  and  altogether  shabby  ap- 
pearance, hence  the  need  for  constant  change,  which  surely  ac- 
counts in  part  for  the  practised  hand  of  the  English  craftsmen. 

Beside  Revett,  Howard  dealt  also  with  another  manufacturer 
of  this  ware,  located  in  Ipswich,  likewise,  and  known  to  the  Stoke 
household  simply  as  "Thomas  of  Ipswiche."  His  lordship  at 
least  rented  vessel  of  this  Thomas,  having  one  settlement  with  the 
craftsman  on  a  Sunday  in  August  of  1483,  while  September  27th 
of  that  year  ".  .  .  my  Lord  paid  hym  for  the  hire  of  ves- 
sell  for  all  that  he  cowde  ax,  un  to  this  day,  a  bove  wretyn, 
xxvj.s.  viij.d. " 63 

When  hired  dishes  were  in  the  possession  of  a  household,  the 
establishment  naturally  assumed  responsibility  for  their  safe  re- 
turn. A  vexatious  little  comedy  on  this  theme  was  played  at 
Lord  North's  expense  during  his  costly  entertainment  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  before  related.  The  necessary  extra  pewter  dishes  for 
that  occasion  rented  at  20s.  Scouring  and  taking  charge  of  the 
ware  thus  hired  cost  16s  :8d.  more.  Then  in  the  hub-bub  and 
confusion  during  the  festivities,  it  was  discovered  that  the  outfit 
was  missing  —  "lost."  The  set  weighed  forty-five  pounds,  and 
his  lordship's  clerk  recorded  that  at  8d.  per  pound,  it  cost  32s-. 
2d.  to  replace ! 64  Had  this  episode  happened  at  Stoke,  Lord 
William  Howard's  animadversions  would  have  been  well  worth 
recording ! 

Likely  enough,  by-the-bye,  some  of  the  Queen's  attendants 
made  off  with  the  lost  ware;  for  in  these  ancient  days  thieving 
was  a  universal  art,  at  the  practice  of  which  domestics  were  prone 
to  be  very  adept.  A  household  regulation  of  King  Henry  the 
8th,  issued  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  reign,  enveighs 
against  a  ponderous,  elephantine  burglary,  truly  appalling  to 
contemplate,  evidently  indulged  in  by  his  servants.  Article 
thirty  of  those  regulations  "enjoins  all  his  highness'  attendants 
not  to  steal  any  locks  or  keys,  tables,  forms,  cupboards,  or  other 

62  Harrison,  Description  of  England,  Holinshed,  1,  399. 

63  Howard  Household  BooJcs  (Collier),  464. 

e*  Extracts  from  Household  Books,  Archaeologia,  XIX,  290  et  seq. 


100  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [374 

furniture,  out  of  noblemen's  or  gentlemen's  houses,  where  he 
goes  to  visit"! 65 

Returning  for  a  final  observation  on  Howard 's  industrious  pur- 
veyance :  There  was  not  a  supply  detail  to  which  he  would  not 
attend.  He  could  buy  a  lock  for  his  saffron  garden,66  and  he  was 
not  too  dignified  to  pay  lid.  for  "ij  bolles  for  the  kechyn,  ij 
rounde  dyshes  and  xj  platers  of  tre  (wood)  to  serve  werkmen, 
and  othyr  gere. ' ' 67 

In  conclusion,  we  have  followed  here  an  interest  on  the  part  of 
these  noble  householders  in  their  supply  purveyance  which  led 
them  from  its  intricate  supervision  to  the  personal  transaction  of 
its  most  trivial  business.  Two  reasons  for  such  an  interest  read- 
ily suggest  themselves.  In  the  first  place  a  nobleman's  estate 
was  his  all;  as  it  flourished  or  decayed,  so  waxed  or  waned  his 
personal  well-being.  Supplies,  costly  both  to  secure  and  keep, 
constituted  one  of  his  heaviest  running  expenses.  In  1469  they 
cost  the  Duke  of  Clarence  2545£  :15s  :6d.68  In  1512  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland  thus  laid  out  677£:18s:ld.,69  while  in  1561, 
Edward  Earl  of  Derby  expended  in  like  manner  nearly  1700£.70 
Furthermore  all  the  duties  of  purveyance  as  well  as  those  con- 
nected with  supply  consumption,  entrusted  to  servants,  offered 
seductive  temptation  to  even  the  stout  of  heart  among  a  liveried 
crew ;  somewhat  of  this  we  have  already  seen  while  further  details 
of  a  similar  variety  will  come  presently  to  view.  If,  therefore,  a 
nobleman  were  a  wise  manager,  he  had  to  be  alert  to  all  that  was 
going  on  in  this  department.  In  the  second  place,  if  fortune  so 
favored  him  that  he  were  not  driven  to  constant  spigot  gazing  in 
self  defense,  even  such  a  man  must  have  welcomed  work  like  that 
with  which  we  have  seen  them  busied,  in  preference  to  long  hours 
of  logy  idleness.  When  at  home,  with  no  routine  business  at 
hand,  how  tediously  had  the  leaden-footed  days  dragged  by! 
Duties  like  these,  on  the  other  hand,  if  properly  conducted,  de- 
manded a  constant  vigilance  which  should  soon  have  taught  a 
man  to  mark  the  whirr  of  the  hour's  wings,  and  the  swift  passage 
of  the  day's  post-horse! 

65  Archaeologia,  III,  154. 

ee Howard  Household  Boolcs  (Collier),  292. 

67  Ibid.,  325. 

es  Boyal  Household  Ordinances,  101  et  seq. 

«»  Northumberland  Household  Book,  1-27. 

TO  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  1-5. 


CHAPTER  V 
SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  SERVANTS 

Live  not  in  the  country  without  corn  and  cattle  about  thee,  for  he  that 
putteth  his  hand  to  the  purse  for  every  expense  of  Household,  is  like  him 
that  keepeth  water  in  a  sieve;  and  what  provision  thou  shalt  want,  learn  to 
buy  it  at  the  best  hand  for  there  is  one  penny  saved  in  four  betwixt  buying 
in  thy  need,  and  when  the  markets  and  seasons  serve  fittest  for  it. 

—  Lord  Burghley  to  his  Son. 

If  all  wise  noblemen  carefully  interested  themselves  in  the  in- 
tricate responsibilities  of  supply  purveyance,  there  were  many 
times  in  the  course  of  a  year  when  such  personal  buying  as  often 
engaged  their  attention  was  out  of  the  question ;  nay,  at  best,  the 
heaviest  share  of  that  labor  perforce  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of 
paid  officers;  in  fact  the  men  hired  to  attend  to  the  purchase, 
keep,  and  delivery  of  the  household  supplies  made  up  the  greatest 
number  of  the  servant  group,  with  that  business  their  principal 
occupation. 

Under  ordinary  conditions,  the  first  among  those  engaged  in 
securing  the  "gross  eruptions"  and  other  supplies  was  the  Stew- 
ard with  his  assistants.  ".  .  .  the  stewarde  of  houshould 
is  to  make  all  forraine  provisions  whatsoever,  and  to  see  them 
brought  into  the  house  and  then  to  acquainte  the  comptroller 
therewith,  as  his  chardge.  .  .  Hee  is  to  make  all  bargaines  and 
sales,  or  at  the  leaste  bee  made  privie  thereunto,  and  also  to  ac- 
quant  his  lorde  therewith,  and  to  take  his  lordes  opinion  therein, 
and  to  call  the  comptroller,  or  other  cappitall  officers,  and  to  take 
theire  opinions  therein,  as  his  assistannce,  for  his  lordes  better 
service  to  bee  donne. ' ' x  Money  for  all  such  purposes  was  given 
him  by  the  Receiver-General;  in  fact  ".  .  .  his  hannde  is 
warraunt  to  the  receavour  for  what  sorames  soever,  for  his  lordes 
affaires.  .  ."2 

Closely  associated  with  the  Steward  in  actual  purveyance  were 
the  Comptroller  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen.  Frequently,  the 

1  Breviate,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  315,  316. 

2  Ibid.,  316. 

101 


102  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [376 

Comptroller  did  most  of  the  buying;  Brathwait  speaks  of  a  su- 
perintendency  of  such  work  by  head  officers,  not  distinguishing 
them  particularly.  "They  must  be  able  to  iudge,  not  onely  of 
the  prices,  but  also  of  the  goodnes  of  all  kindes  of  come,  Cattell, 
and  other  household  provisions ;  .  .  . " 3  In  1512,  Richard 
Gowge,  Countroller,  and  Thomas  Percy,  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen, 
were  charged  with  all  the  work  of  provisioning  the  establishment 
of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland.4  While  this  may  have  been 
a  special  case,  in  general  the  Comptroller  had  to  assume  any  of 
the  Steward's  duties  during  the  latter 's  absence;  "Hee  is  in  the 
absence  of  the  stewarde  to  supplie  his  place,  thoughe  not  in  name, 
yet  in  power  so  amplie,  as  if  hee  himselfe  weare  in  presence 
touchinge  all  commaundes. "  5 

At  the  beginning  of  the  household  year,  before  purveyance  be- 
gan, it  was  customary  to  equip  the  officers  setting  out  upon  that 
business  with  every  datum  and  rule  which  could  assure  their 
work  and  safeguard  a  lord's  interests.  In  1512,  Northumber- 
land's men  were  provided  with  complete  lists  of  all  the  year's 
supplies  —  quantity  noted,  and  price,  as  exactly  as  fluctuation 
would  allow. 

They  knew  accurately  when  it  had  to  be  got  in,  where  much  of 
it  was  to  come  from,  and  when  payments  upon  it  were  to  be  made, 
warrants  for  the  necessary  money  being  made  out  to  them  upon 
the  earl's  several  receivers.6  Furthermore,  they  were  given  a 
flying  start  at  the  commencement  of  each  year,  in  being  able  to 
rely  for  their  first  block  of  supplies  upon  the  carefully  itemized 
remnant  of  stock  left  from  the  previous  twelve-month.  In  1512 
that  " remainder"  in  this  household  was  quite  a  substantial  pro- 
vision, including  a  bit  of  about  everything  used  in  the  establish- 
ment, from  wine  to  hay;  the  whole  was  valued  at  £58:22d. 
".  .  .  as  it  aperith  more  playnly  by  a  bill  of  the  said  Re- 
maneth  signed  with  my  hand  which  ys  delyvert  into  the  kepynge 
of  the  said  Richard  Gowge  Countroller  and  Thomas  Percy  Clark 
of  theKitchynge."7 

3  Brathwait,  7. 

*  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  1. 

s  Breviate,  317. 

e  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  3-27,  111,  207,  etc.  The  Earls  of 
Rutland  and  Derby,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  —  all  noblemen,  probably  had 
similar  lists  and  directions. 

7  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  1-3. 


377]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  103 

In  securing  supplies  dependence  was  first  placed  upon  the 
lord's  demesnes  and  those  of  his  tenants  who  could  pay  their  rent 
in  kind.  To  facilitate  such  purveyance  the  Steward  was  also 
incharged  with  the  demesne  farming,  and  must  needs  be  a  skilled 
husbandman.  He  determined  which  of  the  lands  were  fittest  for 
various  uses,  and  chose  the  "baliefes  of  husbandrie" —  dis- 
pensing to  the  ".  .  .  saide  bailiefes,  all  such  sommes  of  mon- 
nye,  as  is  to  bee  bestowede,  as  well  to  buye  cornne,  as  cattell,  and 
sheepe,  and  to  derect  such  groundes,  for  these  cattell  and  sheepe 
bought,  as  by  his  discretione,  shal  bee  thought  meete.  .  ."  8 

Each  month  of  the  twelve  brought  its  full  quota  of  supervision 
to  this  busy  officer  —  now  it  was  the  preparation  of  all  manner  of 
wood  for  household  use  —  fuel,  hedging  or  building  —  clearing 
grounds  —  plowing  and  sowing,  or  all  the  sage  details  in  the 
breeding  and  management  of  horses  and  stock  —  regulating  of 
pasture  and  fodder  —  harvesting  —  in  a  word,  the  multifarious 
business  of  a  husbandman,  which,  while  not  personally  done  by 
the  Steward,  nor  yet  by  his  assistants  in  office,  was  at  least  over- 
seen by  him.9 

Under  a  careful  management,  a  very  considerable  part  of  the 
year's  gross  emptions  might  be  laid  in  from  the  demesne  and 
tenant  farms.  In  1611  all  the  beef  consumed  from  Lamas  to 
Christmas  in  the  household  of  the  Earl  of  Rutland  was  supplied 
from  Biskwood  Park,  which,  about  May-day,  was  stocked  with 
young  steers  and  heifers  out  of  Yorkshire.10  His  Grace's  sheep- 
folds,  two  at  Hambledon  in  Yorkshire,  and  four  at  Branson, 
Saltby,  Beskpark,  and  Wolsthorpe  farms,  furnished  at  least 
three  hundred  of  the  four  hundred  muttons  used  annually,  while 
all  the  lambs  slaughtered  came  from  ".  .  .  my  Lord's  store 
about  Belvoyre  and  thith  lambes  at  Ansley.  .  . " 

"Warrens,  conveniently  near  the  earl's  various  houses,  raised 
the  two  thousand  two  hundred  rabbits  used  for  food  each  year, 
while  a  rarer  dainty  —  swan's  flesh,  was  likewise  a  home  product ; 

s  Breviate,  315. 

»Breviate,  373-383:  "Heare  insueth  necessarie  instructions  for  the 
Stewarde  or  principal!  Officers  of  the  Houshould  to  have  respect  unto,  as 
concerning  all  forand  occations,  with  the  tymes  and  seasons  of  the  yeare 
dulie  considered  touching  these  perticulars  followinge.  .  ." 

10  Probably  from  farms  of  the  earl.  These  and  the  following  details 
are  taken  from  a  Treatise  on  Supplies  for  the  Eutland  Household,  set  down 
in  1611.  Rutland  MS.,  4,  480-486. 


104  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [378 

the  earl  had  birds  on  the  Trent  river,  and  a  "marke"  in  Holland 
(Co.  Lincoln).  Great  care  was  taken  of  the  flock,  consisting  of 
twenty-nine  swans  and  signettes  in  1613 ;  one  William  Wande  was 
paid  £3  yearly,  for  looking  after  them,  while  each  bird  was 
".  .  .  marked  on  the  bill  with  E.  R.,  which  was  the  marke  of 
Edward,  Earl  of  Rutland;  alsoe  his  Lordshipe's  swans  hath  both 
heeles  cutt  off,  which  is  the  more  certaine  marke  and  used  by  noe 
other  person. " 

Of  the  grain  supply,  the  oats  (200  quarters  annually)  was  all 
rent  corn,  as  was  the  greatest  part  of  the  wheat,  what  was  lacking 
to  make  up  the  full  quota,  120  quarters,  being  bought  in  Lincoln- 
shire ' '  at  the  best  hand. ' '  The  forty  quarters  of  peas  was  largely 
rental  and  tithes  produce,  while  the  entire  160  quarters  of  malt 
was  thus  secured.  In  addition  to  such  staple  foods,  some  of  the 
lighter  supplies  were  also  got  at  home  —  dairy  and  poultry  pro- 
duce—  verjuice,  that  much  prized  sauce,  made  "of  crabbes  gath- 
ered in  my  Lorde's  woodes  in  the  end  of  August"  —  and  candles 
— ' '  His  Lordship 's  provision  of  lightes  is  made  in  the  howse  of 
the  benefit  of  the  slaughter  howse;  my  Lord's  yearely  proportion 
being  x"  dozen." 

About  this  same  time,  the  demesnes  of  Lord  William  Howard 
of  Naworth  presented  all  the  appearances  of  very  thrifty  farms. 
His  lordship's  Steward,  during  1512,  was  paying  men  for  mak- 
ing and  driving  plows,  harrowing,  threshing  of  big  and  oats,  hay 
harvesting,  looking  after  the  orchard,  cutting  wood,  attending  to 
calves  and  flocks  of  sheep,  which  latter  work  included  marking, 
driving  to  pastures,  fold-building  and  folding,  shearing,  gather- 
ing and  winding  wool,  all  of  which  industry  was  netting  many 
of  those  supplies  so  bountifully  consumed  in  that  great  old  house- 
hold.11 

While  most  of  the  provision  for  the  Northumberland  household 
in  the  early  sixteenth  century  was  nicely  estimated  on  a  money 
basis,  and  cash  was  supplied  to  the  earl 's  officers  for  securing  it, 
a  goodly  part  of  the  stock  came  directly  from  the  demesnes. 
Thus  £11  was  paid  for  the  making  and  hauling  of  all  the  hay 
used,  growing  on  one  hundred  and  four  score  and  five  acres  of 
demesne  at  Wressil  and  Leckinfield;  Percy  had  his  cherished 
"Carr  of  Swans"  at  Leckinfield  in  Yorkshire,  under  a  keeper 

11  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  36-41. 


379]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  105 

and  under-keepers,  from  which  were  secured  by  warrant,  twenty 
swans  yearly,  for  garnishing  seven  annual  festivals  —  Christmas, 
St.  Stephen's,  St.  John's,  Childermas,  St.  Thomas's,  New- Year's, 
and  Twelfth  Night.12 

Twenty  parks  in  Northumberland,  Yorkshire,  and  Cumber- 
land supported,  in  1512,  five  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  red  and  fallow  deer,  while  the  earl  had  more  park  land  in 
Sussex  and  other  southern  counties.  This  goodly  store  of  venison 
was  drawn  upon,  also  by  warrant,  for  festivals  throughout  the 
year  —  twenty-nine  does  in  winter,  and  twenty  bucks  in  summer, 
being  the  annual  estimate.13 

Northumberland  had  his  dikes,  or  fish-ponds,  under  their 
keeper,  and  depended  upon  certain  of  his  tenants  for  a  constant 

12  Northumberland  Household  Book,  24-25,  206,  207.  The  form  of  the 
Warrant  follows: 

"WELBILOVIDE  I  grete  youe  wele  Ande  wol  ande  charge  youe  that 
ye  deliver  or  eaus  to  be  delivert  unto  my  welbilovide  Servaunts  Eicherd 
Gowge  Comptroller  of  my  Hous  Ande  Gilbert  Wedal  Clarke  of  my  Ketch- 
inge  For  th'  use  ande  expencis  of  my  saide  Hous  nowe  againste  the  Feest 
of  Cristynmas  next  comynge  Twentie  SIGNETTES  To  be  takenne  of  the 
Breide  of  my  Swannes  within  my  Carre  of  Aromme  within  my  Lordschipe 
of  Lekinfeld  within  the  Countie  of  Yorke  Whereof  ye  have  the  kepinge 
ANDE  that  ye  caus  the  same  to  be  delivert  unto  theme  or  to  Gone  of  theme 
f urthwith  uppon  the  Sight  herof  ANDE  this  my  Writinge  for  the  Delyverie 
of  the  same  shal  be  unto  youe  anempst  me  ande  tofore  myn  Auditours  at 
youre  nexte  accompte  in  this  bihalve  Sufficiaunte  Warraunte  ande  Dis- 
charge GEVEN  under  my  Signet  and  Singe  Manuel  at  my  Manoure  of 
Lekinfeld  the  XXIJth  daie  of  Novembre  In  the  V«»  Yere  of  the  Keigne  of 
our  Soverigne  Lorde  Kinge  Henry  the  VHJ.tb" 

is  Ibid.,  425-426.  Parks  such  as  these  and  rabbit  warrens  like  those  op- 
erated by  the  Earls  of  Eutland  were  very  common  in  England.  Harrison 
writes:  "In  euerie  shire  of  England  there  is  great  plentie  of  parkes, 
whereof  some  here  and  there,  to  wit,  welnere  to  the  number  of  two  hundred 
for  hir  daily  prouision  of  that  flesh  apperteine  to  the  prince,  the  rest  to 
such  of  the  nobilitie  and  gentlemen  as  haue  their  lands  and  patrimonies 
lieng  in  or  neere  vnto  the  same.  I  would  gladlie  haue  set  downe  the  iust 
number  of  these  inclosures  to  be  found  in  euerie  countie:  but  sith  I  cannot 
so  doo,  it  shall  suffice  to  saie,  that  in  Kent  and  Essex  onelie  are  to  the 
number  of  an  hundred,  and  twentie  in  the  bishoprike  of  Durham,  wherein 
great  plentie  of  fallow  deere  is  cherished  and  kept.  As  for  warrens  of 
conies,  I  iudge  them  almost  innumerable,  and  dailie  like  to  increase,  by 
reason  that  the  blacke  skins  of  those  beasts  are  thought  to  counteruaile  the 
prices  of  their  naked  carcasses,  and  this  is  onelie  cause  whie  the  graie  are 
lesse  esteemed. ' '  —  Description  of  England,  Holinshed,  1,  343. 


106  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [380 

supply  of  fish,  ordering  in  1512  ".  .  .  that  a  Direccion  be 
taken  with  my  Lordes  Tenauntes  of  Hergham  and  to  be  at  a  ser- 
teyn  with  theme  that  they  shall  serve  my  Lordes  hous  thrugheowt 
the  Yere  of  all  manar  of  FRESH  WATER  FYSCHE." 14 

In  this  household  also,  articles  of  lesser  importance  were  sup- 
plied at  home.  The  wine  lees  were  saved  for  vinegar; 15  tallow 
from  the  slaughter-house,  in  part,  sufficed  for  candle  manufac- 
ture,16 while  a  thrifty  order  was  issued  to  the  Cater  in  1512,  to 
the  effect  ".  .  .  that  from  hensforth  that  theire  be  no 
HERBYS  bought  seinge  that  the  Cookes  may  have  herbes  anewe 
in  my  Lordys  Gardyns. ' ' 17 

If  it  were  relatively  easy  to  superintend  and  control  such  sup- 
plies as  the  demesne  or  tenants  could  furnish,  the  large  outside 
buying  always  necessary  to  round  out  a  year's  quota  of  gross 
emptions  was  a  difficult  business,  taxing  all  the  ingenuity  of  a 
purveyor.  The  great  objective  with  a  lord,  in  foreign  purchase, 
was  ever,  all  goods  at  the  best  figure.  Not  a  nobleman  was  there 
who  would  not  have  subscribed  an  eloquent  approval  to  the  advice 
Lord  Burghley  gave  to  his  son  in  this  matter.18 

A  prerequisite  to  wise  buying  was  getting  about  the  country- 
side expeditiously,  therefore  horses  were  always  at  a  purveyor's 
disposal,  and  while  he  was  on  duty,  his  personal  expenses  were 
paid  from  the  household  budget.  In  1512,  Northumberland  al- 
lowed 8d.  per  diem,  in  winter,  for  the  keep  of  each  man  and 
horse  engaged  in  purchasing  supplies ;  in  summer  the  rating  was 
2:J/2d.  a  day,  while  Id.  a  day  was  supposed  to  cover  a  day  and 
night 's  grazing  costs  for  one  horse  in  pasture  during  buying  op- 
erations. The  rating  was  also  established  per  week  and  per 
month,  man  and  beast,  for  such  terms  of  absence  from  home  on 
purveyance,19  while  the  round  sum  of  £20  was  the  gross  estimate 
of  this  necessary  cost  for  one  year.20 

i*  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  108. 

is  mid.,  57. 

i«  Hid.,  14-15. 

IT  Ibid.,  108.  See  also  above,  Chapters  II  and  IV,  where  John  How- 
ard, later  Duke  of  Norfolk,  secures  goodly  parts  of  his  provision  from  his 
own  estates. 

is  See  above,  Chapter  caption.  Note  also  Lord  John  Howard's  haggling 
bargains  —  above,  Chapter  IV. 

is  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  119. 

20  Ibid.,  23-24. 


381]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  107 

Throughout  the  entire  Tudor  period  most  outside  buying  was 
done  at  fairs  and  markets.  In  1512,  Northumberland  compelled 
him  " .  .  .  that  standes  chargid  with  my  Lordes  house  for  the 
houll  Yeir  if  he  may  possible  Shall  be  at  all  Faires  wheir  the 
Groice  Empcions  shal  be  boughte  for  the  house  for  the  houlle 
Yeire.  .  .  And  if  he  may  not  Thanne  to  apointe  the  Clerke 
Comptroiller  with  such  either  Persons  as  he  thinkis  good  To  go 
to  the  said  Faires  for  bying  of  the  forsaid  Groice  Empcions. ' ' 21 
Almost  one  hundred  years  later,  Richard  Brathwait  writes  that 
the  chief  officers  in  an  earl 's  household  " .  .  .  must  be  able  to 
iudge,  not  onely  of  the  prices,  but  also  of  the  goodnes  of  all 
kindes  of  corne,  Cattell,  and  other  household  privisions ;  and  the 
better  to  enable  themselves  therto,  are  oftentimes  to  ride  to 
Fayres  and  great  markets,  and  ther  to  have  conference  with 
Graziers  and  Purveiors,  being  men  of  witt  and  experience,  and 
of  them  to  learne  what  places  are  fittest  to  make  provisions  at, 
and  wher  best  to  put  off. " 22  In  fact,  markets  and  fairs  were 
two  institutions  which  then  flourished  well,  and  fitted  the  con- 
venience of  most  noblemen  nicely,  both  as  to  place  and  season. 

Of  the  former,  Harrison  affirms  that  there  were  " .  .  .  few 
great  townes  in  England,  that  haue  not  their  weeklie  markets, 
one  or  more  granted  from  the  prince,  in  which  all  maner  of 
prouision  for  houshold  is  to  be  bought  and  sold,  for  ease  and 
benefit  of  the  countrie  round  about.  Wherby  as  it  cometh  to 
passe  that  no  buier  shall  make  anie  great  iournie  in  the  puruei- 
ance  of  his  necessities:  so  no  occupier  shall  haue  occasion  to 
trauell  far  off  with  his  commodities.  .  . " 23  As  with  markets, 
so  it  was  with  the  fairs,  ".  .  .  there  are  verie  few  of  them 
(great  towns)  that  haue  not  one  or  two  faires  or  more  within  the 
compasse  of  the  yeare  assigned  vnto  them  by  the  prince.  And 
albeit  that  some  of  them  are  not  much  better  than  Lowse  faire  or 
the  common  kirkemesses  beyond  the  sea,  yet  there  are  diuerse  not 
inferiour  to  the  greatest  marts  in  Europe,  as  Sturbridge  faire 
neere  to  Cambridge,  Bristow  faire,  Bartholomew  faire  at  London, 
Lin  mart,  Cold  faire  at  Newport  pond  for  cattell,  and  diuerse 
other,  .  .  ." 

21  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  407. 

22  Brathwait,  7. 

23  Harrison,  op.  cit.,  339. 


108  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [382 

There  were  fairs  in  every  month  of  the  twelve,  and  by  no 
means  counting  all  of  them,  some  four  hundred,  according  to 
Harrison,  kept,  in  almost  as  many  different  places.  May  was  the 
favored  month  with  some  seventy-two,  while  February  fell  lowest, 
with  but  five.  Sunday,  or  a  festival,  was  as  auspicious  an  open- 
ing day  as  another  —  thus  Salisbury  ushers  in  Twelfth-day  with 
a  fair,  Worcester  inaugurates  one  on  Palm  Sunday,  while  New- 
castle, and  other  towns  as  well,  held  them  on  Ascension  day. 
Various  of  these  fairs  were  of  short  duration ;  others,  like  that  at 
Northalerton  in  Yorkshire,  were  recurrent  periodically,  that  par- 
ticular one  holding  every  Wednesday  from  Christmas  until  June ; 
still  others  were  famous  for  some  specialty  —  thus  on  Michaelmas 
Day  at  Malton,  was  "a  noble  horsse  faire. ' ' 24 

Noblemen  usually  patronized  several  different  fairs  even  in 
the  course  of  a  year,  and  between  them  could  get  together  a  wide 
variety  of  household  stuff.  In  the  late  15th  century,  Lord  John 
Howard  of  Stoke,  in  Suffolk,  bought  supplies  at  Stoke,  "Wol- 
pett"  and  Ely  fairs,  and  at  another  called  "oxsyn"  fair.  He 
relied  upon  these  for  part  of  his  cattle  and  fish  supply,  and  once 
for  some  cloth.25  In  1513,  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland 
speaks  simply  of  "fairs";  wherever  these  may  have  been,  he  had 
recourse  to  them  for  his  wine,  wax,  beef,  mutton,  wheat,  and 
malt.26  In  1611-1612,  the  Earl  of  Rutland  bought  his  hogs  at 
Bingham  fair,  and  his  salt-fish,  bay-salt,  soap,  starch,  fish  mats, 
pitch  and  tar,  shovels  and  corn  sacks,  at  Stourbridge.27 

While  a  near-by  fair  was  a  handy  asset  to  a  neighborhood,  as 
Harrison  pointed  out,  some  noblemen  purchased  supplies  at  re- 
mote centres,  being  influenced  perhaps  by  the  repute  of  the  more 
distant  marts.  During  the  early  16th  century,  the  Willoughbys 
of  Wallaton  in  Nottinghamshire,  whilst  they  made  the  usual  pur- 
chases of  cattle,  cloth,  spices,  conserves,  lenten  food  and  kitchen 
utensils  at  fairs  in  adjacent  counties,  like  Litchfield,  Stour- 
bridge, Lenton,  Newark,  Birmingham,  Chesterfield,  Adylton, 
"Goose-fair"  (Nottingham),  and  Fazesley,  also  secured  cattle 

24  Harrison,  op.  tit.,  343,  411-414. 

25 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  99,  107,  187,  234,  286,  301,  307- 
308,  329. 

26  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  407. 

27  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  480-486. 


383]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  109 

from  Gravesend,  Braksted,  and  Cowden  fairs,  in  Kent,  and  from 
Wythyham  fair,  in  Sussex.28 

Transactions  at  fairs  were  frequently  important  and  costly, 
while  getting  purchased  stuff  safely  home  was  not  the  least  of  the 
work  connected  with  such  buying.  On  September  8,  1482,  Mas- 
ter Brame,  one  of  Lord  John  Howard's  men,  bought  cattle  at 
Wolpett  fair — 'twenty-seven  of  the  "grettest  steres"  and  "vij 
steres  of  lene  ware"  (i.e.  unfattened),  paying  for  them  £17: 
12s  :7d.29  The  year  following  the  Steward  laid  out  £24:2s.,  at 
Ely  fair,  securing  seventeen  great  oxen,  four  hundred  fish,  and 
six  couple  of  great  ling ;  the  cattle  had  to  be  put  in  pasture  one 
night,  which,  with  their  keep,  cost  12d.,  while  fetching  them 
home,  came  to  6s  :8d.30  Subsequently  to  their  purchase,  Thomas 
Purcer  and  five  other  men,  with  fifteen  horses,  were  sent  after 
the  fish;  they  were  gone  for  two  days,  putting  up  along  the 
route,  at  places  like  Bury,  Lavnham,  and  Newton,  for  refresh- 
ment ;  at  the  fair  they  had  to  have  a  guide,  whose  service  cost  a 
penny,  the  "freight"  of  the  fish  amounted  to  5s.,  which,  with 
costs  of  men  and  horses,  totaled  4s:9d. ;  Lord  Howard  had  al- 
lowed a  safe  margin,  giving  to  Percer  21s.  for  the  job;  at  his 
home-coming,  however,  the  latter  promptly  returned  his  cash  in 
hand,  and  therewith  with  pronounced  "quit."  31 

In  1542-43,  purchases  of  fish  and  oil  at  Stourbridge  fair  ag- 
gregated £22 :14s  :ld.,  for  the  Willoughbys  of  Wallaton ;  carriage 

2&MSS.  of  Lord  Middleton,  Litchfield,  342,  351,  372,  380,  387.  Stour- 
bridge, 315,  316,  372,  387,  404,  432.  Lenton,  332,  337,  374,  386,  435,  456. 
Goose  Fair,  392.  Newark,  Birmingham,  Chester,  Adylton,  Fazesley,  393. 

29  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  107. 

so/fttd!.,  301.  I  append  the  following  interesting  bit  from  Hound  About 
a  Great  Estate  by  Bichard  Jefferies  (First  American  Ed.,  68-69)  :  "In  the 
old  days,  before  folk  got  so  choice  of  food  and  delicate  of  palate,  there 
really  seemed  no  limit  to  the  strange  things  they  ate.  Before  the  railways 
were  made,  herds  of  cattle  had  of  course  to  travel  the  roads,  and  often 
came  great  distances.  The  drovers  were  at  the  same  time  the  hardiest  and 
the  roughest  of  men  in  that  rough  and  hardy  time.  As  night  came  on, 
after  seeing  their  herd  safe  in  a  field,  they  naturally  ate  their  supper  at  the 
adjacent  inn.  Then  sometimes,  as  a  dainty  treat  with  which  to  finish  his 
meal,  a  drover  would  call  for  a  biscuit,  large  and  hard,  as  broad  as  his 
hand,  and,  taking  the  tallow  candle,  proceed  to  drip  the  grease  on  it  till  it 
was  well  larded  and  soaked  with  the  melted  fat." 

si  Howard  Household  Books,  307-308. 


110  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [384 

home  was  done  by  one  Michael  Cossall,  for  15s.,  while  the  costs 
of  Ysebrand  Barnaby  and  Thomas  Hyde,  at  the  fair,  balanced  at 
12s  :9d.32  That  same  year,  June  1st,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
hogs  were  bought  at  Adylton  fair,  in  Yorkshire;  ferriage  had  to 
be  paid  at  Rotherham,  over  the  Don,  and  "rewardes,"  "to  the 
pynders  helpynge  to  kepe  the  sayd  hogges  from  the  corne  as  they 
drove  thorowe  the  f eldes. ' ' 3S 

Sometimes,  where  convenient,  transportation  home  was  en- 
trusted to  tenants.  All  the  provisions  which  the  Earls  of  Rut- 
land bought  at  Stourbridge  fair  went  by  way  of  Deeping  boats 
to  Deeping,  at  6s:8d.  the  load  of  twenty  hundredweight;  there 
tenants  carted  it  to  Uffington  at  6s.  the  load;  Uffington  tenants 
saw  it  forward  to  Belvoir  at  6d.  the  cart  "and  horse  meat  and 
man's  meat  at  Belvoyre." 34 

Such  parts  of  the  year's  supplies  which  were  not,  or  could  not 
be  bought  at  fairs,  were  usually  purchased  at  some  neighboring 
market,  or  in  the  metropolis,  simply  out  of  hand,  as  chance  of- 
fered ;  Lord  John  Howard  dickered  out  many  a  bargain  directly 
with  farmers,35  and  Stewards  doubtless  resorted  to  the  same 
measures;  Brathwait,  in  fact,  speaks  of  a  "yeoman  purveyor" 
who  was  to  assist  the  officers  in  this  wise  —  he  was  ' '  to  learne  out 
such  farmers  as  will  serve  in  Corne,  and  to  bring  them  to  the 
officers  to  bargaine  for  so  many  quarters  of  "Wheate,  Malte, 
Pease,  and  Gates,  as  is  thought  needefull :  these  bargaines  would 
be  made  in  May  or  June,  and  the  corne  not  to  be  received  vntill 
November  following,  and  afterwards  monethly,  as  shall  be  agreed 
upon :  but  the  whole  monye,  or  the  greatest  parte  therof ,  would 
be  paide  at  the  making  of  the  bargaine,  for  so  may  the  Corne  be 
boughte  the  better  cheaper,  provided  that  the  Farmers  be  men  of 
honesty  and  abillitye,  and  that  they  stande  bounde  to  deliver  in 
the  Corne  sweete  and  good,  dried,  and  maulted,  marketable  with 
the  best."36 

Lord  John  Howard  frequently  made  purchases  at  Colchester, 
while  his  wine  and  spice  stores  were  secured  at  London.37  In 

32  Lord  Middteton's  MSS.,  387. 

ss  Ibid.     (The  costs  have  been  torn  from  the  MSS.  —  EDITOR). 

34  Treatise  on  Provisions,  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  481. 

as  See  above,  Chapter  IV. 

se  Brathwait,  34. 

37  See  above,  Chapter  IV. 


385]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  111 

1611,  the  Earl  of  Rutland  bought  Lent  provision  at  Lynn  Mart, 
whence  it  was  conveyed  to  Brigge,  and  from  there  transported  to 
Belvoir,  by  his  Grace 's  tenants  of  Rapsley.38  He  went  to  Boston 
for  his  white  and  claret  wine,  vinegar,  white  .salt,  and  iron  — 
the  latter  "provision  for  the  pharryar  is  made  at  Boston  of 
Dansk  (i.e.  Danzig)  or  Spanish  iron  at  £18  the  tunne ;  my  Lordes 
proportion*yearly  being  Xe.  or  half  a  tunne. ' '  The  year's  supply 
of  sack,  Muscadine  and  Rhenish  wines,  of  spices  and  fruit, 
torches  and  drinking  glasses,  were  fetched  from  London;  still 
other  necessities  —  glass  and  birch  brooms  —  were  got  at  New- 
ark, while  the  " .  .  .  great  well  rope,  being  70  yeardes,  costes 
at  Nottingham  33s.  the  small  rope  for  the  same  being  360  yeardes, 
costes  18s."39 

At  the  time  the  officers  charged  with  supplying  the  house  were 
given  their  gross  emption  lists,  Michaelmas,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  household  year  —  purveyance  began,  and  was  continually 
under  way,  through  the  season.  Much  of  the  "store  food"  nat- 
urally, had  to  be  secured  at  a  particular  date,  or  bought  up  at  a 
sacrifice,  if  at  all,  while  again,  the  exigencies  of  storage,  or  mere 
convenience,  influenced  purchase.  Thus  the  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, in  buying  his  beef,  divided  the  purchase  into  two  lots, 
one  hundred  and  nine  fat  cattle  being  secured  at  Hallowe'en, 
which  were  "spent"  from  then  till  the  following  midsummer;  at 
St.  Helen's  day,  in  May,  the  remainder  —  twenty-four  lean 
beeves,  was  bought  up  to  be  fattened  in  the  home  pastures  for 
use  through  the  summer  months.  Mutton,  fat  and  lean,  was  also 
handled  after  this  same  fashion.40 

Likewise,  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  in  1611  bought  his  hogs,  which 
had  to  be  wintered,  late  in  the  fall  —  October  —  and  his  beef  on 
May-day;  part  of  the  latter  stock  were  oxen,  which  were  first 
used  for  draught,  when  they  were  wintered  and  slaughtered 
from  Christmas  to  Lamas.  The  rest  of  the  beef  were  young 
steers  and  heifers,  fattened  for  meat  in  one  of  the  demesne 
parks.41 

Lenten  food,  again,  had  to  be  procured  by  a  specified  time  — 
it  must  be  seasonably  at  hand  for  use,  yet  there  was  no  economy 

ss  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  481. 

3»  Treatise  on  Provisions,  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  480-486. 

40  Northumberland  Household  Hook,  4-5. 

*i  Treatise  on  Provisions,  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  480-481. 


112  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [386 

in  storing  it  longer  than  was  necessary,  so  that  Michaelmas,  or 
Candlemas,  was  timely  date  for  its  purchase.42 

Notwithstanding  the  inflexible  operation  of  these  forces,  which 
could  not  well  be  overcome,  it  was,  nevertheless,  possible  so  to 
divide  buying  operations,  that  all  the  work  and  expense  of  pur- 
veyance were  distributed.  In  1512,  Northumberland  had  pro- 
vided for  four  large  annual  payments  from  his  coffers,  to  cover 
his  entire  provisioning  expenses ;  these  four  budgets  in  turn,  were 
sub-divided  into  ten  sums,  running  throughout  the  year;  they 
fell  due,  as  payments  for  food,  at  Michaelmas,  Hallowe'en,  St. 
Andrew's,  Christmas,  Candlemas,  Lady-Day,  Easter,  St.  Helen's, 
Midsummer,  and  Lamas;  on,  or  between  these  dates,  certain 
specified  spplies  had  to  be  laid  in.  Thus,  on  Lady-Day,  a  large 
payment,  as  they  ran  —  £158 : 19s :  Id,  fell  due;  it  sufficed  to 
cover  part  of  the  annual  purchase  of  wheat,  malt,  wine,  hops, 
honey,  oil,  white  salt,  vinegar,  mustard,  spice,  and  coal.43 

When  supplies  commenced  to  come  in,  it  fell  to  the  Comp- 
troller, assisted  by  the  Clerks  of  the  Kitchen,  or  similar  officers, 
to  manage  the  safe  bestowal  of  everything,  and  notwithstanding 
the  fact,  that  most  purchases  were  contracted  either  by  the  lord 
himself,  or  his  superior  officers  of  household,  the  first  duty  of  the 
Comptroller,  upon  receipt  of  goods,  was  to  make  a  careful  inspec- 
tion, to  insure  against  short  dealing ;  Northumberland  orders  his 
clerks  to  ".  .  .  see  surely  that  every  Grosse  Empcion  that  is 
bought  for  th'  expensis  of  my  Lordis  hous  be  brought  in  and  to 
see  whether  it  be  abil  Stuf  or  not  after  the  price  that  is  set  upon 
it  or  (i.e.,  e'er)  it  be  entered  or  occupyed"  44  (i.e.,  stored  away). 
Further,  these  same  officers  were  to  ".  .  .  see  all  manar  off 
Grosse  Empcions  that  ar  boght  to  be  entred  furthwith  in  the 
Jornall  Booke  when  thei  ar  bought."45  This  was  a  long  ob- 

42  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  and  the  Earl  of  Eutland  both  se- 
cured Lent  food  on  this  date. 

•*s  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  31.  Note  also  that  the  food  pur- 
chases for  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  run  right  through  every 
month  of  the  year.  See  his  Household  Books,  25-26,  44-48,  65-66,  e.g. 

44  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  62. 

45  IMd.,  61.     The  Earl  of  Derby  evidenced  a  special  solicitude  for  his 
grain  supplies  —  "IT'M  the  Yeoman  of  my  Lo.  his  gard'n  shall  take  into 
my  Lo.  his  house  noe  sorte  of  Grayne  but  the  Cheefe  officer  for  the  tyme 
attendinge  shall  see  and  vewe  by  what  measure  it  is  bought  and  cometh  in 
to  thende  the  said  yeoman  maye  bee  accomptante  therefore  accordinlye  and 


387]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  113 

served  precaution;  Brathwait  also 'writes,  "When  come  or  Cat- 
tell  are  brought  home,  the  saide  Officers  are  presently  to  view  the 
same,  and  then  to  take  the  particular  prices  of  every  thing,  and 
to  commend  or  disallow  as  ther  is  cause.  .  . " 46 

Once  favorably  passed  upon,  the  supplies  next  fell  to  the  par- 
ticular charge  of  the  different  officers  instituted  for  that  pur- 
pose—  all,  however,  still  under  the  surveillance  of  the  Comp- 
troller and  his  servitors.  Customarily,  there  were  eight  offices 
for  the  receipt  and  storage  of  supplies  —  food,  fuel,  and  light, 
each  presided  over  by  a  Yeoman  and  a  Groom,  carefully  chosen 
and  trained  to  the  duties  of"  their  posts.  These  were  the  Garner 
or  Granery,  Cellar,  Buttery,  Larder,  Pantry,  Ewery,  Scullery, 
and  the  Wood-yard. 

Into  the  Garner  were  delivered  all  the  grains  —  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  rye,  malt,  pease,  beans  and  vetches,  as  they  came  in,  duly 
inspected  by  the  officers,  either  from  the  demesne  farms  or  by 
purchase;  whereupon,  after  the  picturesque  directions  laid  down 
for  the  garner-men,  the  wheat  was  strewn  thinly  on  the  floor 
"like  to  the  waves  of  a  small  river,  waved  with  a  soft  wind." 
It  had  to  be  stirred  frequently  until  thoroughly  dried  so  as  to 
prevent  heating.  Malt,  if  nicely  dried,  was  stacked  in  great 
heaps,  but  even  so,  it  too,  demanded  watching  —  if  its  precincts 
were  not  cleanly  swept,  and  the  grain  often  turned  up  with 
shovels,  weevils  bred  in  it,  and  the  pest,  once  established,  were 
exceedingly  hard  to  eradicate.  Pease  moulded  unless  looked  to; 
treading  on  them  prevented  that  calamity;  oats,  in  their  turn, 
were  apt  to  get ' '  fusty, ' '  so  that,  with  all,  these  officers  were  well 
occupied  men,  at  least,  in  season. 

All  the  wine  store  was  carefully  placed  in  the  cellar,  and  pro- 
tected against  "taking  air/'  An  expert  Yeoman  for  the  Cellar 
was  a  man  "not  given  to  rioting,  but  frugall  and  sparing,  ex- 
perienced to  make  choice  of  wines,  and  so  skilfull  in  tast,  that  he 
may  be  able  to  judge  which  wines  are  to  be  first  spent,  and  which 
last  kept."  He  must  watch  his  Groom,  to  see  that  the  cellar 
plate  was  ' '  fair  kept,  and  orderly  placed  in  the  plate  chests  and 
upon  the  cubbards,"  counting  the  same,  morning  and  evening, 
and  at  once  notifying  the  officers  and  instituting  search,  if  any 

that  all  bee  deliu'ed  by  hime  by  Ormeschurche  measure  onlie. " —  Stanley 
Papers,  Part  2,  21. 
4«  Brathwait,  7. 


114  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [388 

piece  were  missing.  ' '  His  office  must  be  cleanly  kept,  and  swete, 
none  being  suffered  to  breake  their  fastes  therein,  except  they 
be  strangers  of  great  accompt. ' ' 

The  Buttery  was  the  storehouse  for  brewed  liquors,  especially 
beers  and  ales.  "When  the  supplies  were  coming  in,  the  groom 
of  that  office  placed  the  hogsheads  well,  and  after  the  beer 
"spurged"  or  defecated,  saw  to  it  that  the  casks  didn't  leak,  and 
that  they  were  well  stopped  with  clay  and  bay  salt;  this  done, 
and  his  ale  ' '  yeasted  and  covered, ' '  he  was  assured  of  being  able 
to  draw  out  his  full  number  of  gallons  for  service.  As  each  brew 
came  in,  one  tun,  at  least,  was  selected  for  the  special  use  of  the 
master  of  the  house;  this  was  not  to  be  drawn  on  "much  past 
the  mid  barre."  This  office,  like  the  cellar,  was  an  attractive 
locus  in  the  castle,  and  its  Yeoman  had  to  be  advised  "to  avoid 
carousinge  and  to  keep  his  office  private  to  himself."  "Well 
equipped  houses  had  an  outer  buttery,  where  strangers  were 
given  drink,  the  house  Yeomen  and  Grooms  accompanying 
them,  otherwise  the  latter  quenched  their  thirsts  ' '  at  the  barre, ' ' 
and  none  but  the  chief  officers  were  allowed  in  the  room  where 
the  liquor  was  stored.  The  Yeoman  of  the  Buttery  saw  "his 
buttery  plate,  stone  Juggs,  and  blacke  Jacks,  to  be  faire  and 
sweete  kept"  —  which  work  was  the  Groom's,  as  well  as  keeping 
the  office  clean,  broaching  the  barrels,  and  serving  out  the  liquor. 

The  dressed  meats,  fish,  fresh  and  salt,  butter,  eggs,  milk,  herbs 
for  seasoning,  together  with  the  salt,  oatmeal,  and  other  like  food 
stuffs,  were  all  kept  in  dry  and  wet  larders,  under  the  Yeoman  of 
the  Larder,  who  was  perhaps  the  Yeoman  of  the  Slaughter-house 
as  well.  He  had  "to  be  carefull  that  all  kindes  of  meate  both  in 
slaughter  house  and  wet  larder,  be  kepte  safe  from  doggs,  catts, 
and  other  vermine,  and  that  noe  powdered  meates  be  lost 
throughe  want  of  well  salting  and  good  keeping.  .  ."  Cured 
fish,  like  ling  and  habberdine,  was  not  simply  to  be  stored  up  till 
needed  for  use,  it  had  to  be  taken  out  and  aired  carefully,  in 
March  and  October,  and  not  spent  until  the  third  year.47 

In  every  household,  bread  of  various  kinds,  manchet,  cheat, 
household,  trencher,  and  sippet  or  dredge,48  was  baked  in  large 

47  Treatise  on  Provisions,  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  481. 
*8  See  Appendix  C  for  a  contemporary  description  of  these  different  sorts 
of  bread. 


389]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  115 

quantities  weekly;  the  entire  stock  was  at  once  turned  over  to 
the  Pan  tiers,  Yeoman  and  Groom,  "by  tale"  .  .  .  "and  if 
the  loaves  be  lesse  than  the  size  set  downe  by  the  officers,  or  that 
the  breade  be  not  well  seasoned,  or  ill  baked, ' '  straightway  were 
the  bakers  to  be  informed  thereof,  and  the  fault  amended.  In 
addition  to  the  bread,  these  officers  were  responsible  for  the  salts, 
spoons  and  knives,  keeping  the  same  clean  and  accountable  for 
every  one  of  them. 

The  household  stock  of  linen  —  napkins,  table-cloths,  cup- 
board cloths,  and  serving  towels,  along  with  plate,  like  the  ewers, 
or  hand  basins  used  for  washing  before  and  after  meals,  and  the 
candlesticks,  with  all  manner  of  lights  —  tallow,  Paris  candles 
and  torches,  were  deposited  in  the  ewery,  under  charge  of  the 
servitors  of  that  office.  The  Yeomen  and  Grooms  who  looked 
after  the  plate  and  table-linens,  had  no  light  task,  for  in  great 
households  these  goods  were  stored  up  in  immense  quantities. 
In  1469,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  purchased  in  his  year's  .supply 
of  linen,  three  hundred  and  fifty  ells  of  Holland,  forty  ells  of 
"Naperie  of  Devaunt,"  fifty  ells  of  "Naperie  of  Parice,"  fifty 
ells  of  diaper,  fifty  ells  of  towels,  three  dozen  napkins,  and  one 
dozen  ' '  Napkyns  of  Parice. ' ' 49  The  whole  cost  him  no  less  than 
£58:15s:8d. 

In  1561,  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby  laid  out  £51 : 11s:  4d.  in  like 
manner.50  While  pewter  plate  was  very  extensively  used, 
sumptuous  ware  in  silver,  silver  gilt,  and  even  in  gold,  was  com- 
mon enough  in  some  of  these  great  houses.  Harrison,  writing  of 
the  English  nobleman's  manner  of  dining  declares  that  "The 
chiefe  part  likewise  of  their  dailie  prouision  is  brought  in  before 
them  (commonlie  in  siluer  vessell  if  they  be  of  the  degree  of 
barons,  bishops  and  vpwards)  .  .  ."  and  "As  for  drinke  it 
is  vsuallie  filled  in  pots,  gobblets,  iugs,  bols  of  siluer  in  noble 
mens  houses,  also  in  fine  Venice  glasses  of  all  formes,  .  .  . "  51 

In  1535,  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  owned  among  other  plate,  the 
following  rich  pieces  —  of  cellar  plate,  twenty-nine  bowls,  the 
heaviest  weighing  fifty-two  ounces,  one  cup  with  a  cover,  one  with 
a  scallop  shell,  one  "with  liberties  heddes"  weighing  fifty  ounces, 

<9  Royal  Houseliold  Ordinances,  103-104. 
so  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  4. 
5i  Holinshed,  I,  280. 


116  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBI/EMAN  [390 

and  a  cup  of  assay ;  twelve  pots,  including  two  with  angels  in  the 
covers,  two  of  antique  work,  and  two  with  dolphins,  weighing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  ounces  each.  The  ewery  outfit 
consisted  of  six  basins  and  ewers,  gilt,  the  heaviest,  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  ounces,  and  fourteen  candlesticks.  In  the  scullery 
were  two  chargers,  twelve  platters,  two  dozen  saucers,  and  three 
dozen  dishes.  The  pantry  contained  four  square  salts,  two  bell 
salts  with  covers,  one  salt  of  roses,  one  ' '  salt  of  gold  holden  with 
(i.e.  by)  a  shepherd  and  sett  with  perle  and  stone,"  and  one 
"salt  of  gold  like  a  shippe,  with  perle  and  stone";  twenty-one 
spoons,  three  dozen  and  one  trenchers,  while,  in  addition  to  these, 
there  were  two  cruets  of  gold  weighing  twelve  ounces,  silver 
vessel  weighing  1,467  ounces,  4,260  ounces  of  gilt  plate,  and  fifty- 
six  ounces  of  gold  plate,  the  latter  alone  being  valued  by  the 
appraisers  at  £112,  while  his  lordship's  , entire  stock  was  by 
estimate  worth  £1,475.52 

The  scullery  was  under  Yeoman  and  Groom  who  were  "to  be 
men  not  onely  diligent  and  painefull,  but  also  honest  and  care- 
full,  after  every  meale  to  gather  into  their  office  the  silver  and 
pewter  vessels,  and  before  they  goe  to  scowring  or  washing,  cer- 
tainely  to  number  them,  that  none  be  missing ;  if  any  be,  present- 
ly to  acquainte  the  clerke  of  the  kitchen  therewith,  and  every 
night  to  carry  all  the  Silver  vessell  either  to  the  Clarkes  cham- 
ber, or  to  such  a  strong  and  safe  place  as  shall  be  appointed  for 
the  same  to  stand  in. ' '  Above  all  they  dared  not  be  dilatory  in 
dressing  up  their  plate ;  they  must  be  ready  on  call  " .  .  .  for 
the  vessel  cominge  hotte  from  the  water  they  bee  clensed  in,  and 
presentlie  to  bee  servide,  is  neather  good  nor  wholesome.  .  ." 
These  busy  officers  kept  the  sauces  also  —  vinegar,  verjuice,  and 
mustard,  and  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  was  careful  to  ap- 
point a  scullery  Groom  who  could  mix  the  latter  favorite  condi- 
ment properly,  to  avoid  its  purchase  from  a  ' '  sawcemaker. ' ' 53 

The  wood-yard  stored  all  the  fuel,  and  might  be  under  the  reg- 
ulation Yeoman  and  Groom,  or  a  clerk,  assisted  by  the  Ushers 
and  Groom  of  the  Hall.54  If,  as  was  usually  the  case,  much  of 

&2  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  452-453.  ' '  1535,  December  18.  —  The 
Remayn  of  plate  taken  at  Southwark  on  this  date.  .  ."  Plate  like  this 
was  common  in  most  of  the  great  households. 

ss  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  173. 

5*  Ibid.,   72. 


391]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  117 

the  stock  were  purveyed  from,  a  lord's  own  forests,  then  these 
men  perchance,  were  charged  with  the  supervision  of  its  prep- 
aration. In  Northumberland's  establishment,  when  the  hard 
wood  was  brought  home,  these  officers  saw  every  "hundred" 
riven  into  three  hundred  "shides,"  each  a  yard  long  and  a  span 
broad,  and  nicked  with  an  axe,  once,  twice  or  thrice  —  so  that  in 
delivering  out  the  wood  for  consumption,  it  was  possible  to  tell 
how  far  each  hundred  went. 

Beside  the  bulk  food  or  gross  emptions,  purchased  in  large 
amounts,  each  household  was  regularly  supplied  with  "fresh 
acates,"  or  "cates"  as  they  frequently  were  called,  which  might 
be  toothsome  dainties,  especially  offered  by  the  season,  or  any 
sort  of  common  provision,  as  meat,  fish  or  vegetables,  butter,  eggs 
or  cheese,  bought  up  for  use  at  once.55 

This  kind  of  food  which  enriched  at  least  the  menu  of  the  lord 
himself  and  his  principal  officers,  was  an  expensive  part  of  the 
supplies,  and  a  special  purveyor,  the  Cator,  or  Achator,  attended 
to  its  purchase.  In  1469,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  spent 
£608 :  6s :  8d.  annually  for  " .  .  .  f reshe  acates  and  deynties, 
bothe  of  flesshe  and  fisshe,  by  reasonable  estimation. "  —  an  aver- 
age daily  outlay  of  33s :  4d.56  The  Earl  of  Northumberland 
counted  on  spending  £105 : 15s :  4d.  for  "Cator  Parcels"  as  these 
items  were  called,  in  1512-1513,57  while  in  1561,  Edward,  Earl  of 
Derby  laid  out  £357 :  5s :  8y2d.,  out  of  which  £20: 14s:  7d.,  went 
for  cheese  and  butter  alone.  His  son,  the  Earl  Henry  paid 
for  like  food  £50:  9s:4d.,  from  May  7th  to  July  19th,  of  1587, 
an  average  of  £4  (plus)  per  week,  the  particular  sums  varying 
weekly  from  £8: 14s:  8%d.  to  42s:  Id.58  Still  later,  in  1611, 
similar  food  cost  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth,  £89: 
16s  :7d.59 

The  Cator,  like  all  officers  charged  with  a  responsibility,  and 
especially  a  trust  involving  money-handling,  had  to  be  carefully 
chosen  — ' '  He  should  be  a  man  skilf ull  and  of  good  conscience, 
for  if  he  want  knowledge  and  iudgement  to  buy  at  the  best 

ss  See  Appendix  D. 

56  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  102. 

57  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  26. 
ss  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  5,  28,  33. 

5»  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  20 
et  seq. 


118  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [392 

hande,  and  withall  have  a  cheverell  conscience,  so  that  he  will  be 
sure  in  the  laying  out  of  every  shilling  to  gaine  to  himself e  a 
penny  at  the  least ;  such  a  man  in  a  great  house  will  thrive  him- 
selfe,  but  his  Lorde  shall  lose.  .  .  I  say  noe  more  but  God 
make  him  an  honest  man."60 

The  Gator's  particular  work  is  described  by  a  contemporary 
as  follows:  "He  is  to  inquire  and  looke  for  in  the  countrie,  as 
he  travelleth,  what  dainties  there  bee,  as  younge  chickines, 
pidgeons,  or  suche  like,  at  the  first  comminge  of  them,  and  like- 
wise for  fowle  and  fishe,  of  all  sortes,  accordinge  to  the  seasonne 
of  the  yeare,  and  to  bee  acquainted  with  such  foullers  and  fishers, 
as  bee  the  best  takers  of  foule  and  fishe,  to  bee  accustomede  with 
them  so  shall  hee  bee  the  best  servide,  and  before  others ;  and  to 
have  a  speciall  care  that  such  dead  foule  and  fishe,  as  hee  buyeth, 
bee  newe  taken,  sweete  and  goode,  for  ells  it  is  not  serviceable,  but 
monye  loste,  so  bistowede. " 61  Sometimes,  however,  it  proved 
convenient  to  entrust  other  little  purchases  to  the  Cator,  since 
he  went  about  daily.  This  was  very  customary  with  the  "Wil- 
loughbys  at  Wallaton,  whose  Cator  at  different  times  fetched 
home  crockery  ware,  "glass  for  the  musician's  chamber,"  salts 
for  the  Hall,  cloth,  match  and  gunpowder,  small  pins,  ink,  soap, 
or  so  miscellaneous  a  budget  as  that  brought  in  on  November 
28th,  1573,  made  up  of  pans,  chafing  dishes,  chamber  pots,  scum- 
mers,  ladle,  frying  pans,  platters,  dishes,  saucers,  candlewick, 
well  rope,  clock  rope,  traces,  halters,  whipcord,  etc.62 

However  adept  a  Cator  proved  himself  to  be,  he  seldom  went 
about  the  purchase  of  food  on  his  own  responsibility.  Regularly, 
each  day  or  week,  as  the  case  might  be,  he  received  a  written 
order,  usually  from  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  or  Comptroller, 
relating  the  items  he  was  to  buy.  To  do  this  ordering  well, 
both  these  other  officers  likewise  had  to  know  this  side  of  pur- 
veyance thoroughly;  in  fact  one  of  the  regular  duties  of  the 
Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  was  to  keep  instructed  about  markets  and 
goods:  "So  often  as  he  can  have  convenient  leasure,  himself  e 
is  to  goe  into  the  market,  and  ther  to  cheapen  and  vnderstand 
the  prices  of  all  Achates,  .  .  ,"63  The  Comptroller  was 

eo  Brathwait,  34. 
ei  Breviate,  339. 

62  MS8.  of  Lord  Middleton,  425,  434,  438,  441,  etc. 

63  Brathwait,  19. 


393]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  119 

equally  as  experienced  if  not  more  so  — ' '  Hee  is  to  see  into  the 
seasonnes  of  the  yeare,  that  what  first  reneweth,  and  is  most  rare 
and  daintie,  may  bee  gott,  and  that  choice  of  those  necessarie 
provisions  bee  provided  for  with  varietie  of  dressinge  for  the 
lordes  diete."64 

Sometimes  Clerk  and  Comptroller  worked  together  in  this 
labour,  and  they  might  have  their  responsibilities  in  regard  to 
Cator  parcels  considerably  lightened  through  orders  received 
directly  from  the  master  of  the  house  himself.  In  Northumber- 
land's establishment,  these  two  servants  dispensed  his  funds  to 
the  Cator  monthly.  Beforehand,  however,  the  earl  and  his 
council  had  determined  just  the  amounts  of  these  monthly  pay- 
ments, what  was  to  be  purchased  with  them,  and  where  much  of 
the  stuff  was  to  be  got ;  thus  the  parcels,  chiefly  of  birds,  to  be  se- 
cured weekly,  monthly,  and  for  the  principal  feasts,  were  all  tab- 
ulated ; 65  the  Cator  was  instructed  to  contract  for  milk  and  eggs 
by  the  year,66  swans  were  to  be  secured  from  the  estates,  being 
paid  for,  after  the  market  rate.67  "Wild  fowl  he  must  get 
".  .  .  at  the  firste  hand  where  they  be  gotten.  .  .  For  it 
is  thought  that  the  Pulters  of  Hemmyngburghe  and  Clif  haithe 
great  Advauntage  of  my  Lorde  Yerelie  of  selling  of  Cunyes  and 
Wilde  Fowel. " 68  And  lastly,  he  was  caused  to  ".  .  .  goo 
abrode  to  the  Contry  weikly  for  byinge  of  Stuf  in  suche  Places 
as  it  is  thoght  it  shal  be  best  cheip  and  to  by  it  seldomest  about 
where  my  Lorde  lyith  except  it  may  be  had  as  good  chepe  there 
as  other  where."69 

While  the  Cator  was  in  service  daily,  his  work  varied  in  ex- 
tent with  the  season  of  the  year,  festivals  making  the  heaviest 
demand  upon  his  time.  Thus,  in  Northumberland's  household, 
the  total  amount  to  be  spent  upon  this  sort  of  food  in  1512,  was 
divided  into  monthly  payments,  according  to  the  estimated  needs 
of  each  month  —  January,  with  Twelfth-day,  cost  the  purse 
£23:  22d.;  December  fell  to  £17:  9s.;  April,  that  year,  with 
Easter  and  St.  George's  day,  was  allowed  £9:  19s.:  5d. ;  June, 

6*Breviate,  318. 

ss  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  102-107. 

ee  Ibid.,  108. 

67  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  103. 

es  Ibid.,  184. 

69  Ibid.,  63. 


120  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [394 

with.  Whitsunday,  £9 :  lls :  8d. ;  while  the  other  months  ran  from 
100s.  to  about  66s.  apiece.70 

When  the  Gator's  stuff  came  in,  it  was  transferred  to  the  Yeo- 
man of  the  Larder,  after  first  passing  a  careful  muster  before 
the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  and  the  Comptroller,  or  other  equally 
responsible  officers,  for,  as  Brathwaith  declares  ".  .  .  I  have 
knowne  some  cunning  Achators  that  would  decieve  both  Officers 
and  Clarke,  if  they  were  not  very  heedef ul. ' ' 71 

In  Northumberland's  establishment,  here  as  everywhere,  the 
utmost  care  was  exercised  regarding  provision  of  this  sort.  In 
1512,  his  Grace  ordered  "ITEM  that  oone  of  the  Clerkis  of  the 
Countynghous  luke  dayly  upon  the  Caterer's  Stuf  that  he 
bryngyth  in  and  that  it  be  broght  up  into  the  Countynghous 
and  if  it  be  not  able  Stuf  nor  worth  the  price  that  he  sittythe 
upon  it  to  delyver  it  hym  again  and  not  to  be  receyved  ne  oc- 
cupied for  my  Lordis  use."  And  again  —  "ITEM  that  if  the 
said  Clerkis  of  the  Brevements  see  the  Caterer  raise  his  prices 
of  his  Stuf  otherwise  than  he  was  wont  to  doo  then  thay  to  reason 
with  hym  upon  it  And  if  thay  see  good  caus  why  it  shuld  be 
raysed  so  to  allowe  it  and  if  not  to  abait  his  price  accordinge  as 
it  is  worth.72 

His  goods  passed  upon,  the  Gator  was  then  compelled  to  enter 
his  items  each  morning  at  the  general  accounting,  or  else  at 
night.73  This  was  done  under  the  eye  of  the  Clerk  Comptroller 
who  was  every  day  to  ".  .  .  se  the  Caitour  Parcells  enterid 
bitwixt  the  houres  of  vij  and  viijth  o'th  cloike  And  that  he 
suffer  not  the  Caitour  to  enter  noo  Parcells  but  that  he  knowes 
surely  he  dede  bringe  in  And  to  se  the  said  Parcells  him  selve 
examonid  or  he  suffer  theim  to  be  enterid  into  the  Jornall 
Booke.  .  ,"74  Finally,  the  parcels  were  ".  .  .  cast  up 
every  moneth  to  knowe  whoether  they  doo  lak  of  the  Somme 

•to  Ibid.,  26. 

71  Brathwait  says  of  the  Clark's  duties:     "He  is  diligently  to  view  over 
all  the  Achates  brought  in  by  the  Achator,  and  to  take  his  Bills  of  the 
prices  so  soone  as  possibly  he  can."     19,  8. 

Breviate,  on  Comptroller's  duties:  "He  is  to  take  the  weekelie  ac- 
compte  of  the  clarke  of  the  kittchine,  so  well  by  journall,  as  the  cator's 
accompt  or  chardge.  .  ."  318. 

72  Northumberland  Household  Book,  63. 

73  Ibid.,  62. 

74  Ibid.,  408-409. 


395]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  121 

that  is  assign 'd  for  theym  or  ells  they  excede  above  the  said 
Somme."75  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby  also  ordered  all  his  acates 
paid  for  every  week,  and  accounts  of  their  purchase  given  weekly 
to  the  household  clerks  —  " .  .  .  otherwise, ' '  he  declares  ' '  the 
p'ces  (prices)  wilbe  farre  higher  and  his  Lo.  worse  served/'76 

Naturally,  if  a  lord  so  desired,  he  personally  could  both  in- 
struct and  pay  his  Gator,  and  attend  to  his  accounting  himself. 
Very  frequently,  Lord  John  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  or  her 
Grace,  his  lady,  assumed  such  work  —  thus  the  Steward  writes 
under  9th  December,  1482,  ''The  same  day,  my  Lord  paid  to 
Rychard  Wulman  for  cattes  come  in  afor  Saturday  nyght, 
37s.  "77  —  or>  un(ier  2nd  January,  1483  ".  .  .  my  Lorde 
rekened  with  the  Catour,  and  it  drawe  to  hym  dewe  unto  Sater- 
day  last  past  35s. :  7d.  And  so  he  is  al  paid  to  Saterday  last 
past."78 

In  conclusion,  regarding  food  supplies,  very  frequently  some 
delicate  morsel  was  furnished  to  a  lord's  board,  through  the 
exceedingly  prevalent  custom  among  the  noblemen  themselves, 
of  exchanging  food  gifts,  or  in  their  receipt  of  such  presents, 
sometimes  from  very  humble,  but  grateful  folks;  whoever  the 
the  donor,  he  or  his  servant  presenting  the  gift,  was  always  re- 
warded by  the  recipient.  So  frequent  was  this  pleasant  practice, 
that  most  household  books  had  their  special  ledger  pages,  cap- 
tioned  "Gyftes  and  Rewardes,"  whereon  among  others,  these 
food  items  were  inscribed,  with  their  recompense. 

During  1560,  the  Bertie  Household  at  Grimsthorpe  "re- 
warded" at  least  these  following  —  "Mr.  John  Harrington's 
man  .  .  .  which  brought  in  present  a  shield  of  brawne  and 
puddings."  "...  a  man  of  my  Lord  Clinton's  which 
brought  a  feasant  and  three  partridges;  sondrye  wyves  which 
brought  presentes  uppon  twelfe  daye."  "Mr.  Gwevaras  man 
which  brought  two  oxen  in  present  from  his  master. ' ' 79 

The  Earls  of  Rutland,  at  Belvoir,  also,  were  constantly  re- 
ceiving all  sorts  of  food  gifts  from  about  the  neighborhood. 

75  Ibid.,  65. 

76  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  21. 

77  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  138. 

78  Ibid.,  147.     See  also,  in  the  same  accounts,  155,  165,  168,  172,  185, 
186,  188,  199,  207,  227,  282,  283,  286,  289,  291,  etc. 

70  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  Household  Accounts. 


122  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [396 

Through  several  years  such  presents  included  large  amounts  of 
venison,  boars,  many  varities  of  fish  and  fowls,  among  which  were 
frequently  porpoise  and  bustard,  and  once  a  seal ;  fruit  in  plenty, 
including  cherries,  apples,  pears,  grapes,  strawberries,  goose- 
berries, and  even  prepared  dishes,  like  crane  pasties.  Some  of 
the  more  notable  folk  making  these  gifts  were  the  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, the  Abbots  of  Warden,  Waltham,  Peterboro  and 
Crowland,  which  latter  dignitary  once  presented  the  earl  with 
"2  fat  cygnets,  2  bittern,  and  2  heronsews" —  the  Parsons  of 
Rapsley  and  Waltham,  the  Vicar  of  Ryall,  A  Hermit  of  Alhal- 
lows,  who,  fitly  enough,  sent  into  the  great  house  honey  and 
gooseberries  —  Lady  and  Sir  John  Markham,  Sir  Bryan  Staple- 
ton,  Sir  John  Willoughby,  Lord  Latimer,  Lady  Coffyn  and 
many  others.80 

Presents  like  these  were  made  at  any  time ;  but  it  was  also  the 
custom  to  send  in  gifts  to  a  household  about  to  entertain,  or 
forced  to  a  heavy  expenditure  through  some  unusual  event, 
like  a  funeral,  perhaps.  Thus,  to  this  same  household,  when 
the  Earl  Roger  was  buried,  July  22nd,  1612,  several  men,  all 
but  one  of  whom  were  squires,  sent  swans,  bucks  and  arti- 
chokes.81 Against  the  sumptuous  entertainment  provided  for 
King  James,  at  Belvoir,  which  endured  for  fifteen  days,  com- 
mencing August  7th,  1612,  numerous  bucks,  stags,  muttons, 
fowls,  together  with  fruit  —  plums  and  pears,  were  thoughtfully 
donated  by  some  twenty-five  different  men,  most  of  whom  were 
knights,  while  two  were  earls  —  their  Graces  of  Lincoln  and 
Huntington.  On  both  these  occasions  suitable  rewards  were 
paid  on  receipt  of  the  presents,  those  for  the  latter  entertain- 
ment amounting  to  no  less  than  £34 :6s.82 

While  not  incharged  directly  with  the  purchase  or  storage  of 
food  and  supplies,  an  interesting  and  highly  important  band  of 
servitors,  the  "Kitcheners,"  or  cooks,  with  their  assistants,  who 
prepared  the  food,  stood  in  close  relation  with  the  household 
men  who  were  thus  employed.  The  number  of  Yeomen  and 
Groom  Cooks  with  their  assistants,  usually  children,  varied  wide- 
ly in  different  establishments.  Kitchen  work  in  the  Northum- 

so  M SS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  265-340. 
si  Ibid.,  487.     See  also  489-490. 
.,  487. 


397]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  123 

berland  household  required,  early-  in  the  16th  century,  all  the 
time  of  a  "yeoman  cook  of  the  mouth,"  as  he  was  quaintly 
called,  "Who  doith  hourely  attend  in  the  Kitching  at  the 
Haistry  for  roisting  of  Meat  at  Braikefestis  and  Meallis. "  Under 
him  were  the  Groom  Cook,  who  dressed  the  meats,  and  two  chil- 
dren of  the  kitchen,  one  of  which  latter  was  on  duty  "for  turn- 
yng  of  Broches  Ande  for  maiking  clean  ande  sweping  of  the 
Kiching,"  while  his  little  companion  was  responsible  "for  kep- 
ing  of  the  Vessell  Ande  for  maiking  clean  of  the  saide  vessell  in 
the  Squillary. "  83  In  1539,  the  Earl  of  Rutland  paid  wages  to  a 
little  group  of  eight  men  —  two  Yeomen  Cooks,  four  Grooms, 
one  of  whom  moved  under  the  somewhat  elemental  appellation 
of  Gudluke  Worme,  and  two  Scullery  hands  —  William  Grey- 
beard and  Henry  Green.84  In  1587,  the  splendid  Household  of 
Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  enrolled  ten  men  in  its  kitchen  and  scul- 
lery service.85 

All  of  these  servitors  were  under  the  control  of  the  head  of- 
ficers of  the  household  —  the  Steward,  Comptroller  and  Clerks 
of  the  Kitchen  —  and  received  their  daily  orders  from  them.  In 
1568,  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby  ruled  that  all  the".  .  .  Cookes 
and  Undercookes  shall  obey  all  and  ev'ry  the  Orders  to  be  ap- 
poynted  to  theyme  by  the  Steward,  Clerk  Compt',  and  Clerkes 
of  the  Kytchyn,  as  they  will  avoyde  my  L.  his  displeasure. ' ' 86 
Which  terse  regulations  were  in  force  universally.87 

Under  strict  surveillance,  the  greatest  care  was  exercised  in 
selecting  men  for  this  work,  the  rules  applying  thereto  suggest- 
ing at  once  some  of  the  nauseating  and  even  dangerous  risks 
chancing  from  an  incompetent  or  untrustworthy  service.  In 
1568,  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby  ordered  —  "Item,  that  the  Mais- 
ter  and  Cokes  shall  awayte  quarterlie  and  but  one  of  theym  at 
ones,  and  that  the  same  so  waytyng  shall  not  suffre  anie  under 
cooke  or  boye  to  dresse  anie  of  my  L.  meate  for  his  Lordshyppes 
own  Table  but  they  onely  to  do  the  same  wth  theyr  own  handes 
as  they  wyll  for  the  same  avoyd  his  L.  dyspleasure,  and  allso  that 
they  shall  not  suff re  anie  to  be  in  the  kytchyn  whe  re  my  L.  meate 

ss  Northumberland  Household  Book,  325,  308. 

s*  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  298-299. 

ss  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  25. 

se  Ibid.,  9. 

87  Brathwait,  19,  33.     Breviate,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  335-336. 


124  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [398 

shall  be  dressed  but  suehe  as  shall  there  be  allowed  to  make 
ffyres  and  turne  the  Broches  and  other  necessarie  helpes  there 
and  that  th  assaye  shall  be  taken  at  the  kytchyn."  "Item  that 
there  shall  be  no  resorte  into  anie  place  of  the  kytchin  by  anie 
other  but  suche  as  be  there  allowed  and  apperteyninge  to  that 
Offyce."88 

Even  in  the  royal  household,  idle,  dirty  habits  on  the  part  of 
some  of  the  kitcheners  had  to  be  guarded  against.  In  some  reg- 
ulations drawn  up  by  King  Henry  the  8th,  with  his  Council,  in 
the  22nd  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign,  it  was  enjoined,  among 
other  orders:  "Cap.  37.  Master-cooks  shall  employ  such  scul- 
lions as  shall  not  go  about  naked,  nor  lie  all  night  on  the  ground 
before  the  kitchen-fire."! 89 

Brathwait,  as  usual,  draws  a  somewhat  realistic  characteriza- 
tion of  the  Master  Cook ;  he  " .  .  .  should  be  a  man  of  yeares, 
well  experienced,  wherby  the  yonger  cookes  will  be  drawne  the 
better  to  obey  his  directions.  .  .  In  ancient  times  they  used 
to  have  their  hayrres  on  their  heade  close  cut  and  neare ;  and  in 
like  sorte  their  bearde,  or  els  to  be  shaven:  not  to  weare  long 
glibbes  full  of  sweate  and  filth,  as  many  in  these  dayes  doe ;  for 
good  and  painefull  Cookes  have  not  leasure  dayly  to  kombe  and 
trimme  their  hayre,  but  onely  to  wash  their  face  and  handes,  to 
be  cleane;  for  a  carefull  Cooke  will  thincke  it  is  a  great  shame 
and  disgrace  to  him,  that  an  hayre  should  be  founde  in  any  dish 
by  him  set  owt;  for  albeit  the  yonger  Cookes  both  dresse  and 
dish  many  of  the  dishes  served  to  the  Earles  mes.se,  yet  ought 
the  Master  Cooke  well  to  view  them,  and  also  to  tast  every  of 
them  before  he  suffer  them  to  be  served  forth.  Many  Cookes 
are  given  to  be  great  drinckers,  wastefull  and  testye ;  therefore 
that  Nobleman  that  hath  one  that  is  honest,  sober,  and  frugall, 
is  to  esteeme  him  as  a  Jewell. ' ' 90 

The  only  touch  added  by  the  contemporary  author  of  the 
Breviate,  is  an  injunction  that  the  Cooks  be  discreet  and  diligent 
in  their  offices  ".  .  .  for  that  nothinge  preserveth  his  lordes 
health  more  than  the  clenlie  and  wholesome  dressinge  the  sayd 
meate,  and  they  to  bee  private,  and  none  to  bee  by,  or  privie  to 

ss  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  8-9. 
89  Archaeologia,  III,  155. 
so  Brathwait,  31-32. 


399]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  125 

the  usage  therof,  but  the  clarke  of  the  kittchinge,  the  stewarde, 
or  the  comptroller,  therefore  they  are  to  keepe  theire  offices, 
vidz.  the  kittchine,  pastree,  and  the  boylinge  place,  onlie  to  them- 
selves, the  better  they  shall  attend  theire  service  to  the  lorde,  for 
if  any  thinge  bee  amisse,  the  blame  is  theirs,  wherefore  the 
kittchine  dore  is  to  bee  kepe  lockte,  that  none  bee  there  to 
trouble  them,  nor  hanginge  over  the  meate,  which  is  most  un- 
comly  and  dangerous."91 

No  less  care  was  bestowed  upon  the  problem  of  supply  con- 
sumption than  was  accorded  the  purchase,  receipt  and  storage  of 
stock;  the  whole  process  was  carefully  systematized  and  heavily 
fortified  with  rules,  checks  and  counter-checks,  so  numerous 
were  the  temptations  and  the  opportunities  for  dishonesty,  and 
so  wide  the  division  of  responsibility.  Every  servant  in  control 

9i  Breviate,  Archaeologia,  XIII,  335-336.  John  Earle,  in  his  Micro- 
cosmographie  (1628),  writes  of  "A  Cooke"  as  follows: 

"The  Kitchin  is  his  Hell,  and  hee  the  Diuell  in  it,  where  his  meate  and 
he  frye  together.  His  Eeuennues  are  showr'd  downe  from  the  fat  of  the 
Land,  and  he  enterlards  his  owne  grease  among  to  helpe  the  drippings. 
Colericke  hee  is,  not  by  nature  so  much  as  his  Art,  and  it  is  a  shrewd 
temptation  that  the  chopping  knife  is  so  neare.  His  weapons  ofter  of- 
fensiue,  are  a  messe  of  hot  broth  and  scalding  water,  and  woe  bee  to  him 
that  comes  in  his  way.  In  the  Kitchin  he  will  domineere,  and  rule  the 
roste,  in  spight  of  his  Master,  and  Curses  is  the  very  Dialect  of  his  Calling. 
His  labour  is  meere  blustering  and  furie,  and  his  Speech  like  that  of 
Sailors  in  a  storme,  a  thousand  businesses  at  once,  yet  in  all  this  tumult  hee 
do's  not  loue  combustion,  but  will  bee  the  first  man  that  shall  goe  and 
quench  it.  Hee  is  neuer  good  Christian  till  a  hizzing  Pot  of  Ale  has  slak't 
him,  like  Water  cast  on  a  firebrand,  and  for  that  time  hee  is  tame  and  dis- 
possest.  His  cunning  is  not  small  in  Architecture,  for  hee  builds  strange 
Fabricks  in  Paste,  Towres  and  Castles,  which  are  offered  to  the  assault 
of  valiant  teeth,  and  like  Darius  his  Pallace,  in  one  Banquet  demolisht.  Hee 
is  a  pittiless  murderer  of  Innocents,  and  hee  mangles  poore  foules  with 
vnheard  of  tortures,  and  it  is  thought  the  Martyrs  persecutions  were  deuised 
from  hence,  sure  we  are  Saint  Lawrence  his  Gridiron  came  out  of  his 
Kitchin.  His  best  facultie  is  at  the  Dresser,  where  hee  seemes  to  haue 
great  skill  in  the  Tractikes,  ranging  his  Dishes  in  order,  Militarie:  and 
placing  with  great  discretion  in  the  fore-front  meates  more  strong  and 
hardy  and  the  more  cold  and  cowardly  in  the  reare,  as  quaking  Tarts,  and 
quiuering  Custards,  and  such  milke  sop  Dishes  which  scape  many  times  the 
fury  of  the  encounter.  But  now  the  second  Course  is  gone  vp,  and  hee 
downe  into  the  Sellar,  where  hee  drinkes  and  sleepes  till  foure  a  clocke  in 
the  af ternoone,  and  then  returnes  againe  to  his  Kegiment. ' '  —  Arber  's  Eng- 
lish Reprints,  pp.  46-47  (Large  Paper  Edition). 


126  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [400 

of  supplies,  regularly  accounted  in  a  journal  the  exact  amounts 
of  provision  he  received,  and  what  he  delivered  forth.  If  he 
could  not  write  himself,  then  he  either  kept  a  ''true  tally,"  or 
some  superior  officer  —  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  or  the  Clerk 
Comptroller  entered  his  items  for  him. 

Stock  was  always  issued  strictly  according  to  the  "Order  of 
Household"  —  a  series  of  rules  for  expenditure,  drawn  up  in 
each  establishment,  usually  by  the  lord  himself,  and  his  do- 
mestic council.  These  rules  were  frequently  very  detailed, 
often  covering  for  the  year,  every  variety  of  supply  consump- 
tion, from  Lenten  breakfast  menus,  to  the  daily  rations  for  the 
horses.92  If  there  were  any  expenditure  not  so  regulated  in  ad- 
vance, such  received  attention  each  day  from  the  Clerk  Comp- 
troller, who  made  "such  allowances  forthe  of  those  provisions 
.  .  .  as  to  his  discretion  shall  seeme  meete,  so  well  to  his 
lordes  table,  as  all  other  places  to  him  appointede  by  his  lorde, 
ells  where  soever." 

Dinners  and  suppers  were  repasts  with  flexible  menus  so  that 
the  arrangements  for  those  meals  fell  to  this  officer,  or  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  or  perhaps  to  a  whole  group  of  servitors 
connected  with  the  culinary  department,  as  in  the  household 
of  George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  where  it  was  ordered  that 
".  .  .  the  Steward,  the  Tresorer,  the  Countroller,  the  clerke 
of  the  kichyn,  the  marshalle,  the  ussher,  pantrers,  butlers, 
cookes,  lardeners,  catourers,  and  suche  other  officers,  at  twoe  of 
the  clocke  at  aftyrnoone,  assemble  in  the  halle,  and  there  or- 
deigne  the  fare  of  the  seide  Duke  and  his  household,  for  the 
souper  the  same  nighte,  and  the  next  daye's  dynner;  and  the 
marshalle  or  usher  to  bringe  brede,  wine,  and  ale,  to  the  seid 
ordinaunce,  accordinge  to  olde  custome  of  the  courte."93  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Derby,  in  1568,  commands  his  Comptroller  and 
Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  ".  .  .  allso  to  appoynt  my  L.  ffare 
theym  selves  as  they  will  avoyd  his  L.  displeasure. ' ' 9* 

82 Northumberland  Household  Book',  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2;  Household 
Accounts  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  Breviate,  and  Brathwait's  Treatise, 
all  contain  such  regulations. 

osEoyal  Household  Ordinances,  94.  The  wood-yard  Yeoman  had  to  see 
"that  noe  more  be  delivered  out,  either  to  the  chambers  or  offices,  but  as 
it  is  allowed  by  the  Officers ; ' '  however,  ' '  the  Earles  and  Ladies  chambers 
excepted,  which  are  not  to  be  stinted." 

a*  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  9. 


401]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  127 

Every  morning  each  Yeoman  or  Groom  received  his  order 
from  the  Comptroller  or  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  for  the  day's  de- 
liveries. Thus  the  Pan  tiers  regularly  learned  ".  .  .  what 
breade  is  to  be  allowed  into  the  gentlewomens  chambers  and  the 
nurcery,  as  also  into  all  other  offices  for  drinckings,  in  morn- 
ingys,  evenings,  and  afternoons :  and  in  the  like  sorte  the  yeoman 
of  the  Buttery  is  to  doe  for  beere,  and  the  yeoman  of  the  Ewry 
for  lightes. "  The  slaughterman  too,  was  so  informed  regarding 
his  work.  Some  of  the  servitors  were  allowed  a  guarded  discre- 
tion in  issuing  supplies  —  the  Yeoman  of  the  Cellar  received  his 
direction  from  the  chief  officers  " .  .  .  what  wine  he  shall  de- 
liver to  the  gentlemens  tables  and  to  strangers;  to  the  officers 
table  he  is  to  send  as  they  send  for  it :  The  Earle  or  Ladies  table 
is  not  to  be  stinted, ' '  but ' '  He  is  to  "know  when  to  be  liberall  and 
when  sparing;  for  if  vnder  officers  be  men  experienced  and  of 
good  order,  their  doings  will  not  only  be  profitable  to  their  Lorde, 
but  also  set  out  the  honour  of  his  housekeeping."  A  good  But- 
tery Yeoman  was  a  man  " .  .  .  able  to  discerne  at  what  time 
to  use  liberallitie,  and  when  to  deal  more  sparingly. ' ' 

The  order  for  each  day  filled  and  scheduled  by  every  yeoman 
officer,  none  dared,  under  penalty,  issue  another  thing  from  his 
stock  but  by  a  special  command ;  in  fact,  except  during  the  hours 
their  servitors  were  on  duty,  offices  were  under  lock  and  key. 
In  1469,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  ordered  all  offices  "sparred" 
between  eight  and  nine  at  night,  and  further,  " .  .  .  That  no 
mannere  man,  of  what  degree  soever  he  be,  breake  noe  doores  ne 
windowes,  ne  picke  lockes,  by  nyght  ne  by  daye,  of  any  house  of 
office,  wherein  the  seid  Duke's  goodes  lieth,  withoute  it  be  by 
commaundemente  of  the  offices;  uppon  payne  of  lesinge  of  a 
monethes  wages. ' ' 95 

In  the  Northumberland  establishment,  in  1512,  the  offices  were 
closed  during  part  of  the  day  as  well  — ' ' .  .  .  all  the  Officers 
of  Household  bring  upp  there  KEIS  of  ther  Offices  every  night 
when  my  Lorde  is  servid  for  alle  nighte  into  the  Counting-hous 
AND  that  they  have  them  not  down  unto  the  tyme  that  they 
have  Brevidde  (i.e.  accounted  for  stock)  in  the  mornying  With- 
oute an  Usher  A  Yoman  of  the  Chaumber  of  (or?)  an  Heed 
Officer  Servaunte  com  for  them  ANDE  also  that  the  saide  Of- 

ss  Royal  Houselwld  Ordinances,  90-91. 


128  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [402 

fieers  bryng  up  there  saide  KEIS  into  the  Counting-hous  every 
day  when  the  Latter  Dynner  is  doon  And  to  fetche  theim  agayn 
at  iij  of  the  Clock  to  serve  for  Drinkings. ' r  96  The  duty  of  see- 
ing that  the  keys  of  each  office  were  actually  in  after  breakfast 
at  nine,  dinner  at  three,  and  liveries  in  the  evening,  devolved 
upon  the  Clerk  Comptroller,  who  called  for  them,  if  they  were 
not  forth  coming.97 

Injunctions  against  the  promiscuous  use  of  any  sort  of  pro- 
vision, were  insistent  in  every  household.  In  1469,  the  Duke  of 
Clarence  orders  "that  the  ussher  of  the  chambre  shalle  sette 
lyverey  for  alle  night  for  the  seid  Duke,  by  vij  or  viij  of  the 
clocke  at  the  ferthest,  onlesse  then  there  be  cause  to  the  con- 
trarye;  .  .  .  and  that  noe  lyverey  be  made  after  that  the 
Duke  is  served  for  alle  nyght ;  .  .  .  uppon  payne  of  losinge 
a  dayes  wages. ' '  A  further  ruling  declares  ' '  That  noe  lyvereys 
of  brede,  wyne,  ale,  or  vytell,  be  made  oute  of  the  halle  to  the 
stable,  ne  to  none  other  office  ne  place,  withoute  cause  reason- 
able; and  alsoe  by  the  oversight  and  commaundement  of  the 
hedde  officers  and  the  ministers,  for  the  tyme  beinge."  The 
Groom-porter  was  to  "fetche  noe  woode,  white  lightes,  ne  wax, 
more  than  reasonably  ought  to  be  spent,  and  that  by  oversight 
of  the  ussher  of  the  chambre;  and  that  he  delyver  noe  torche 
.  .  .  of  the  place  withoute  commaundmente  of  the  hedde 
officers  or  usshers;  and  that  he  bringe  dayly  the  torches  .  .  . 
afore  noone  to  the  chaundry  to  be  weyed:  and  as  often  as  he 
offendeth  thereof,  to  leese  a  dayes  wages. ' ' 98 

Identical  ordinances  were  formulated  in  the  Northumberland 
household  in  1512 ;  if  any  servitor's  stock  issues  passed  above  the 
normal,  and  he  could  show  no  legitimate  reason  therefor,  the  ac- 
counting officers  checked  it  as  a  "deficient"  and  the  culprit  was 
called  to  explain  himself.99  No  records  of  wine  served  by  the 
cellar  officers  for  "drinkings"  or  to  the  Great  Chamber,  were 
passed  except  such  as  were  certified  by  accounts  of  receipts  kept 
by  the  Ushers  of  the  Hall  and  of  the  Chamber,  which  latter  of- 
ficers had  to  be  present  at  the  accountings.100  The  accountant 

86  Northumberland  Household  Boolt,  163-164. 
»7  Ibid.,  409. 

oa  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  90,  91. 
sa  Northumberland  Household  Book,  160. 
100  Ibid.,  160. 


403]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  129 

Clerks  were  bound  to".  .  .  Allowe  no  BRAIKEFASTS  that 
ar  servid  by  any  Officer  But  suich  as  ar  appointed  in  the  Bille 
of  Braikefasts  Excepte  it  be  by  the  Comaundement  of  an  Heade 
Officer  an  Usher  of  the  Chaumber  or  of  the  Hall." 101  The  very 
same  law  applied  to  liveries.102 

The  records  of  receipt  and  outlay,  daily  kept  by  all  the  of- 
ficers of  provisions,  served  as  a  control  over  supply  expenditure, 
at  least  from  one  end  of  the  system ;  other  accounts  of  prepared 
food,  about  to  be  served  forth,  were  likewise  written  daily  by  a 
different  group  of  officers;  a  comparison  of  these  two  sets  of 
books,  unless  fraud  were  exceedingly  clever,  would  probably  re- 
veal any  deceit  perpetrated.  Either  Gentlemen  or  Yeomen 
Ushers  of  the  Great  Chamber  and  Hall  kept  records  for  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  of  bread,  wine,  ale  and  messes  of  meat,  as 
spent,  every  day,  at  dinner  and  supper.103  Northumberland's 
Ushers  made  similar  records,  while  the  earl  compelled  his 
".  .  .  Clerke  Coumptroillour  to  be  dailly  at  the  Dressour  to 
se  the  Service  servid  from  the  Dressour  Bicause  of  Bribing  of 
service  at  the  Dreassour  Viz.  Bitwixt  viijth  and  ixth  o'  th  cloike 
in  the  mornyng  to  se  the  Brekefastis  servid  Bitwixt  x  and  xjth. 
o'  th  cloike  on  th'  Etting  Daies  And  bitwixt  xjth  and  xijth  of 
the  Fasting  Daies  to  se  the  Dynner  servid  And  bitwixt  iiij  and 
v  o '  th  cloike  at  after  Dynner  to  se  the  Souper  servid. ' ' 10* 

Finally,  at  no  time  in  the  course  of  provision  handling,  were 
servants  left  to  their  own  devices ;  superior  officers  —  the  Comp- 
troller, or  the  Clerks  of  the  Kitchen,  were  in  constant  round  of 
inspection ;  each  office  in  the  house  was  visited,  its  condition  esti- 
mated, and  accounts  surveyed.  The  overseer's  aim  was  always, 
in  the  words  of  Northumberland's  regulation  to  ".*  .  .  see 
that  the  service  that  is  appointed  in  the  Booke  of  Direccions  for 
th'  Expensez  of  my  Loordes  Hous  be  observed  and  kept  withoute 
inbridgementt  ande  to  be  examyned  every  day  what  lakks  there- 
of to  the  ententt  that  the  Officers  shall  not  parlune  it  to  there 
prouffitt  if  there  be  any  butt  that  it  rynne  oonely  to  my  Loordes 
prouffit."105 

101  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  161. 

102  ibid.,  161. 

103  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  91. 

104  Northumberland  Household  Book,  409. 

105  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  115. 


130  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [404 

Surveillance  commenced  in  the  early  morning,  at  six  o'clock 
in  this  establishment,  when  the  Larderer  and  Cooks  were  called 
out  and  the  officers  saw  them  strike  out  the  services  of  food  for 
the  day  as  appointed,  ".  .  .  to  th'  ententt  that  they  shall 
nather  maike  it  lesse  nor  more  for  excedinge  Bott  accordynge  to 
the  Order  of  the  Book. ' ' 106  In  their  rounds  they  attended  to  so 
minute  a  care  as  measuring  the  pots  and  cans  of  the  cellar  and 
buttery,  so  that  if  the  officers  asked  for  a  larger  allowance  of 
liquor  than  the  vessels  would  warrant,  the  mis-dealing  would 
be  discovered  and  the  ''deficient"  promptly  recorded.107  Were 
there  a  baking  on,  the  Clerk  Comptroller  would  be  at  hand 
".  .  .  to  see  the  Breid  weaid  that  it  keape  the  weight  ac- 
cording to  the  said  stinte  in  the  saide  Booke  of  Ordours."  Fur- 
ther, this  same  ubiquitous  man  daily  had  " .  .  .  an  Ey  to  the 
Slaighter  Hous  at  all  tymes  whenne  any  Viaundes  shall  be  slaine 
their  And  their  to  se  the  Suette  clynne  taikynne  owt  withoute 
any  Bribe  And  their  weaid  and  brought  into  the  Storehouse  be- 
longing the  Countinghouse  and  from  thens  by  the  Clerks  de- 
livert  to  the  Chaundler  be  weighte  from  tyme  to  tyme  at  (as) 
he  shall  occupie  it  And  also  that  he  se  the  Slaighter  Manne 
maike  the  Vaillis  (i.e.  rewards)  noo  larger  thanne  he  ought  to 
doo."108 

If  all  this  precaution  did  not  avail  to  keep  things  running 
honestly  and  after  the  "stint,"  a  final  and  supreme  effort  at 
regulation  was  made  through  the  daily  breving  or  accounting, 
done  before  special  clerks  known  as  the  Clerks  of  the  Breve- 
ments,  who  might  have  the  assistance  of  other  clerks  in  the 
household  in  their  work.  In  Northumberland's  House,  this 
breving  was  done  in  the  counting  house,  commencing  at  seven 
o'clock  A.M.,  and  continuing  until  eight-thirty.  Every  officer 
passed  up  in  the  order  of  his  rank,  and  had  his  accounts  for  the 
day  examined;  when  this  was  done,  the  records  were  forthwith 
entered  in  the  book  of  the  brevements,  under  each  officer's  sur- 
name, to  avoid  checking  any  deficient  against  the  wrong  man.109 
No  breakfasts  could  be  served  until  this  work  was  finished,  and 

106  Northumberland  Household  Book,  116,  408.     See  also,  Stanley  Papers, 
Part  2,  9,  and  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  93. 

107  Ibid.,  173.  ^ 

108  ibid.,  409-410. 

109  Northumberland  Household  Book,  128,  59,  et  seq. 


405]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  131 

every  man  was  bound  to  appear  for  brevement  or  be  reported  to 
the  head  officers  as  a  delinquent.110 

As  the  accounting  clerks  had  all  the  household  orders,  the 
books  of  the  officers  receiving  and  dealing  out  provisions,  to- 
gether with  those  accounts  kept  at  meal  times  by  the  Ushers, 
and  as  it  was  the  special  duty  of  men  like  the  Ushers  to  report 
at  the  brevements  any  deficiency  in  the  service  of  any  officer,111 
the  breving  must  have  proved  an  intricate  but  withal  efficacious 
system  for  order  and  exactitude  in  the  entire  household  supply 
service. 

Part  of  the  breving  fell  weekly  or  monthly :  thus  the  tallies  of 
baked  goods  and  brewings  were  entered  in  the  Journal  Book 
weekly  when  the  bread  and  beer  were  delivered  to  the  Pantler 
and  Buttery-man;  at  the  same  time  corresponding  tallies  were 
delivered  to  the  Baker  and  Pantler,  Brewer  and  Butler.  Meats 
also,  were  recorded  once  a  week,  before  both  the  Yeoman  of  the 
Larder  and  the  Slaughterman;  while  once  a  month,  the  clerks 
saw  the  reckoning  made  before  them  in  the  Counting-house,  be- 
tween the  Glover  and  the  Slaughterman,  for  mutton  skins,  and 
between  the  Chaundler  and  the  Slaughterman,  for  the  beef  and 
mutton  tallow,  and  between  the  Yeoman  of  the  Pantry  and  the 
Baker,  for  flour.112  The  hour  set  for  this  accounting  with 
Bakers,  Brewers  and  Butcher,  was  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  some  one  of  the  earl's  council  had  to  be  present,  upon 
which  ruling  his  Grace  insisted  "As  they  wolle  avoide  my 
Lordes  despleasure  ande  stonde  at  theire  Jeopardy  for  the  con- 
trary doying."113 

In  addition  to  these  daily  entries  of  supplies  coming  in  and 
spending,  these  Clerks  of  the  Brevements  cast  up  an  average,  or 
"pie'  of  all  household  expenses  once  a  month,  in  the  form  of  a 
bill;  they  also  made  out  the  remainder  of  all  stock  on  hand 

no  Ibid.,  60. 

in  "ITEM  that  the  Ushers  of  the  Chambre  and  of  the  Hall  se  whether 
the  Potts  be  fyllid  as  they  oght  to  be  when  th'  Officers  brynges  theym  or 
not  And  if  they  be  not  then  they  to  shew  it  to  the  said  Clerkis  at  the 
Brevynge  And  they  to  reforme  it.  ITEM  that  the  said  Clerkis  of  the 
Brevements  inquyre  every  day  of  the  Ushers  at  the  Brevynge  what  Defawtts 
they  fynde  with  th'  Officers  and  the  said  Clerkis  to  reform  the  same."  — 
Northumberland  Household  BooJc,  64. 

112  Northumberland  Household  Book,  60-61. 

us  Ibid.,  170. 


132  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [406 

monthly,  and  at  the  year's  end  figured  out  similar  bills  for  the 
twelvemonth,  together  with  an  account  of  any  cash  balance  on 
hand,  due  to  securing  some  provision  more  cheaply,  perhaps, 
than  its  cost  had  been  estimated.114  Northumberland's  order 
for  his  "Bill  of  Remainder"  voices  handsomely  his  economic 
principles,  as  well  as  that  round-about  style  his  clerks  so  well 
affected  — ' '  ITEM  it  is  Ordeyned  by  my  Loorde  and  his  Coun- 
saill  at  every  Yeres  ende  that  the  Accompt  of  the  Hous  endes  of 
That  there  shal  be  at  every  such  Yere  ending  of  the  saide  house- 
holde  a  Bill  to  be  maide  of  the  Remeineth  of  such  Stuf  as  re- 
meines  unspent  provided  and  bought  in  the  Yere  afforesaide 
With  the  Names  of  the  Parcells  every  parcell  by  it  self  With  the 
price  that  it  was  bought  fore  And  the  daie  of  the  moneth  that  it 
was  boughte  on  The  said  Bill  to  be  a  Memorandum  to  be  put  in 
the  Book  of  Householde  for  th'  Ordre  of  the  hous  of  the  New 
Yere  thorrow  the  levis  of  the  Book  which  is  ordened  for  the  hous 
Bicaus  they  shall  not  have  it  written  in  the  said  Book  because  the 
Some  of  the  Remeineth  Yerely  is  not  certayn  and  therefore  the 
Parcells  thereof  is  thrawn  in  the  Somes  of  the  Parcells  of  the 
Somes  of  Money  bicaus  the  Parcells  of  the  Remaneth  cannot 
keep  always  a  certayn  Some  but  some  Yere  more  and  som  Yere 
les  as  the  case  doth  require  nor  always  one  manner  of  Parcells  to 
be  the  Remaneth  nor  of  like  valor  as  they  be  other  Yeres  bicaus 
the  Stuf  that  is  best  cheep  which  must  be  expended  the  most  of 
that  stuf  is  best  to  be  provided  and  bicaus  that  the  said  Re- 
maneth of  the  Stuf  unspent  of  the  Yere  affore  ended  shal  be  the 
first  Som  paid  in  partie  of  payment  of  the  Some  of  th'  Assigne- 
ment  apointed  for  the  keping  of  my  Lordes  hous  for  the  New 
Yere  Wherefore  this  said  Article  is  maide  for  the  knowledge  of 
th'  ordre  thereof  bicaus  it  shal  be  Yerelie  the  first  Som  and 
Parcell  paid  for  the  hous. ' ' 115 

All  of  this  book-keeping  required  part  or  all  of  the  services  of 
no  fewer  than  eight  clerks  —  the  Clerk  Comptroller,  the  first 
and  second  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  the  Clerks  of  the  Spicery, 
Brevements,  Counting-house,  Garner,  and  the  Clerk  Avenar. 
Four  of  these  —  the  second  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  and  his  fellows 
of  the  Spicery,  Brevements,  and  the  Clerk  Avener,  were  under 

"4  Ibid.,  130. 

115  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  119-120. 


407]  SUPPLY  PURVEYANCE  133 

the  Clerk  Comptroller.110  He  called  them  out  to  commence 
work  in  the  Counting  house,  at  four  o  'clock,  A.M.  —  each  to  his 
particular  accounting.  The  Clerk  Comptroller  himself,  kept  a 
"correcting  journal"  of  all  the  supplies  daily  coming  in,  and 
when  these  accounts  were  verified,  either  by  himself,  or  by  the 
officer  charged  with  household  management  for  the  year,  they 
were,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Clerk  Comptroller  "en- 
grossed" in  a  "clear  Journal  Book,"  by  the  Clerk  of  the 
Spicery,  who  accounted  for  brevements  of  meat  and  drink 
also.117  The  Clerk  Comptroller,  likewise,  was  responsible  for 
keeping  the  household  expenses  after  their  rating,  and  therefore 
he  had  leisure  every  day  ' '  in  the  mornynge  af oire  Brekef ast  and 
an  oithir  houre  to  study  and  every  after  noon  afoire  Drinkingis 
peruse  over  in  the  Booke  of  Ordoures  of  the  House  ...  by 
(which)  he  shall  se  theim  observid  according  to  th'  Ordours  in 
the  said  Booke. "  118 

The  second  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  who  saw  the  food  supplies 
delivered  to  every  office  daily,  and  the  victuals  struck  out  for 
service,  kept  a  "correcting-book"  of  all  meal  ratings.119  This 
also,  was  subsequently  re-written  in  another  book,  by  the  Clerk 
of  the  Brevements,  or  the  Clerk  of  the  Counting-house.  The 
Clerk  Avener  kept  daily  accounts  of  horse  feed  and  fuel,  at- 
tended to  their  distribution,  and  saw  those  supplies  locked  up 
after  the  services  of  stock  for  the  day  were  issued.120  The  Clerk 
of  the  Kitchen  did  the  daily  breving  of  officers,121  while  the 
breving  book  for  all  the  grain  supplies  was  kept  by  the  Clerk  of 
the  Garners.122  It  was  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  also,  who  av- 
eraged up  the  monthly  accounts,  "On  day  clere  at  the  ende  of 
every  Monith  throughe  owte  the  Yeire"  being  allowed  him  for 
that  purpose.123  Office  was  open  at  six  o'clock,  A.M.,  at  one 
o'clock,  P.M.,  and  in  the  evening  until  eight  o'clock,  since  all  of 

lie  Ibid.,  408. 

117  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  392-393,  408. 

us  Ibid.,  409. 

us  Ibid.,  329,  393. 

120  Ibid.,  394. 

121  Ibid.,  329. 

122  Ibid.,  329. 

123  Ibid.,  406. 


134  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [408 

each  day 's  accounts  were  " .  .  .  cast  up  the  said  night  or  the 
Clerkes  goo  to  bed.  .  ,"124 

Regulations  to  achieve  the  purpose  so  elaborately  striven  for 
by  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  were  worked  out  in  every 
household.  The  Duke  of  Clarence  compelled  his  head  officers 
"every  Mondaye,"  to  "take  the  remanentes  in  every  office,  and 
incontinent  after  to  calle  afore  them  the  officers  of  the  seid 
housholde,  and  the  rolles  of  the  pantrey,  kyehen,  spicery,  and 
stable  .  .  .  the  expenses  thereof  .  .  .  and  to  see  dailey 
brefements,  where  they  be  accordinge  to  the  expenses  made  one 
weeke  afore  by  the  dockette,  whereby  shall  be  perceived  if  there 
be  any  defaute  in  any  office,  that  it  be  redressed  and  refourmed, 
and  the  trespassour  punished  by  the  discression  of  the  officers; 
and  if  any  of  the  clerkes  fayle  in  that  to  them  belongeth,  to  leese 
ijs.  at  every  defaute."125  Every  accountable  officer,  Bakers, 
Pantlers,  Butlers  of  wine  and  ale,  Clerks  of  the  Spicery,  Larder, 
Scullery,  Stable,  and  Ushers  of  the  Hall,  had  to  attend  each 
Monday,  when  this  ' '  remain ' '  was  taken.126  This  was  in  1469 ; 
in  1586,  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby  had  his  weekly  brevements,127 
and  either  the  Steward  or  the  Comptroller  was  in  attendance 
regularly  from  Friday  night  until  Monday  morning  to  oversee 
that  important  work.128 

In  such  fashion  was  managed  the  particular  work  of  supply 
purveyance,  storage  and  issuage.  The  manner  in  which  the 
business  was  conducted  was  of  great  interest  to  every  soul  in  a 
household,  but  especially  so  to  the  master  himself,  who  had  to 
pay  for  everything,  and  who  ran  the  constant  risk  of  being 
cheated  or  in  some  way  short-changed,  unless  he  kept  hand  well 
in  the  business  and  eye  ever  upon  his  servants. 


124  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  406. 

125  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  93. 

126  Ibid.,  93. 

127  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  13. 

128  Ibid.,  22. 


CHAPTER  VI 

FINANCIAL  MANAGEMENT  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

In  great  expenses  very  few  hath  ever  seen  together  the  hundredth  part 
of  that  was  wasted;  and  princes  that  hath  ever  bene  frugall,  in  my  observa- 
tion, hath  bene  acquainted  with  the  grosse  of  there  treasure  at  somme 
tymes,  with  there  owen  eies.  The  humor  is  so  tickling  and  easy,  when  any 
affections  or  desires  doe  move,  to  say,  — ' '  boroughe,  sell,  buy,  pay,  give, ' ' 
—  as  the  evill  is  not  knowen  before  the  smart  is  felt;  and  yett  shall  he 
never  behold  more  for  it,  than  an  Auditor's  collection  once  in  a  yeare,  or 
once  in  his  lyfe,  perhaps  never. 

—  The  9th  Earl  of  Northumberland  to  his  son. 

Beware  thou  spend  not  above  three  or  four  parts  of  thy  revennews;  nor 
above  a  third  part  of  that  in  thy  house.  For  the  other  two  parts  will  do 
no  more  than  defray  thy  extraordinaries,  which  always  surmount  the  ordi- 
nary by  much:  otherwise  thou  shalt  live,  like  a  rich  beggar,  in  continual 
want.  And  the  needy  man  can  never  live  happily  nor  contentedly.  For 
every  disaster  makes  him  ready  to  mqrtgage  or  sell.  And  the  gentleman 
who  sells  an  acre  of  land,  sells  an  ounce  of  credit.  For  gentility  is  nothing 
else  but  ancient  riches,  so  that  if  the  foundation  shall  at  any  time  sinke, 
the  building  must  needs  followe. 

—  Burghley  to  his  second  son,  Robert  Cecil. 

The  large  sums  of  money  which  had  to  be  readily  available  in 
the  management  of  a  great  household,  came  out  of  the  lord  'a  in- 
come from  his  estates.  Where  such  estates  were  vast,  and  they 
generally  were  so  among  the  class  of  noblemen  here  described, 
the  expert  services  of  several  officers  were  hired  to  insure  their 
wise  exploitation.  These xC'fficers  were  the  Surveyor,  Auditor 
and  Receiver-GeneraLXith  under  Receivers,  perchance,  as  in  the 
Northumberland  household.  There  were  establishments  which 
did  not  boast  of  all  three  servitors,  but  in  such,  a  wider  responsi- 
bility was  cast  upon  the  Steward  and  Comptroller.1 

i  Brathwait,  3.  ' '  He  may  have  an  Auditor,  and  a  Eeceiver ;  but  theese 
are  extraordinary,  and  two  of  the  cheefe  Officers  (being  men  of  experience) 
may  supply  those  places;  the  one  in  taking  accompt,  the  other  in  receiving 
rents  and  proffits,  and  thereby  free  the  Earl  from  fees  that  belong  to  those 
Officers. ' ' 

135 


136  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [410 

The  Surveyor's  was  a  various  work,2  which,  if  it  were  well 
done,  required  on  his  part  great  practical  wisdom,  and  an  acute 
speculative  sense.  Witt^ini_r^ted_the_very  important  duty  of 
estate  evaluation,  to  the  end  that  its  utmost  worth  might  be  care- 
fully assured  to  his  master.  He  operated  under  a  warrant  by 
the  lord's  hand,  and  was  first  responsible  for  making  general 
surveys  of  all  estate  lands  and  property,  wherever  they  lay;  by 
these  surveys,  the  findings  of  which  were  duly  recorded  in  a 
book,  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  lands  were  discovered. 
Arable,  pasture,  meadow  and  woodlands  were  distinguished, 
while  in  regard  to  the  latter,  their  character  was  further  speci- 
fied, for  example  copse  or  sherewood,3  as  the  case  might  be,  "for 
that  theire  commodities  doe  arise  severallie." 

This  portion  of  his  labour  fulfilled,  the  Surveyor  had  next  to 
deliver  to  the  Receiver-General  a  "perfect  rentall,"  which  was 
a  book  based  on  his  surveys,  and  signed  by  himself ;  through  its 
information  the  Receiver  was  well  equipped  to  get  in  the  sums 
of  money  justly  due  him  from  tenants.  A  rental  book  of  this 
sort,  made  out  by  a  servitor  for  Lord  William  Howard  of  Na- 
worth,  in  1611,  discloses  the  detailed  accuracy  involved  in  the 
compilation  of  these  statistics.*  Its  caption  asserts  that  "At 
Naward  Castle  at  the  Auditt  ther  holden  the  14°  December.  A° 
Dni  1611,  weare  the  parcells  ensuing  delivered  by  the  Auditor5 
for  the  true  cleare  vallues  uppon  the  foote  of  every  particular 
Account. ' ' 

The  work  is  made  out  in  Latin,  and  in  it  appear  the  rentals 
down  to  a  farthing,  of  all  messauges,  manors,  bailiff's  offices, 
meadows,  mills  with  toll  grain,  and  demesne  lands,  together  with 

2  All  the  facts  which  follow,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  are  derived  from 
the  "Breviate"  above  described. 

s  "  Sherewood "  may  be  either  wood  which  is-^ear,  and  free  from  knots 
and  blemishes,  suitable  for  building  purposes,  or  it  may  be  wood  of  a  size 
to  be  split  for  burning. 

*  The  Household  Boolcs  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle, 
Appendix  vii,  413-416. 

e  While  the  Auditor  appears  to  have  been  responsible  for  these  statistics, 
the  book,  if  made  out  by  him,  was  probably  similar  to  the  "rentals"  for 
which  the  Surveyor  was  held  responsible.  It  is  possible  that  one  man  was 
both  Surveyor  and  Auditor  for  Lord  William  Howard,  or  it  may  have  been 
that  this  was  the  work  of  a  Surveyor,  which  was  used  by  the  Auditor. 


411]  FINANCIAL   MANAGEMENT  IN   THE   HOUSEHOLD  137 

court  perquisites,  which  yearly  mafde  up  Lord  William's  snug 
income.  The  various  sources  of  income,  except  the  demesne 
lands,  were  grouped  and  the  totals  struck,  by  counties,  and  the 
neat  tabulation  concludes  as  follows,  establishing  its  grand  total : 
"Summa  totalis  of  the  cleare  yearlely  revenew  this  yeare,  end- 
ing at  Martinmas,  1611,  aunswered  by  the  several  bailiffes  and 
receivers  in  the  County  aforesaied  as  above  particulerly  patet, 
M.M.M.  cclxiiij.11  xj.s  j.d  To  which  the  profit  of  the  Stock  and 
store  remaininge  uppon  the  Lord's  demeanes  above  mentioned, 
viz.  1110  cattle  of  all  sorts  and  3000  sheepe,  accounted  for  this 
yeare,  and  paied  in  by  Thomas  Waters  the  Storer,  besides  that 
which  was  of  all  kindes  of  provision  delivered  in  by  him  to  the 
house  at  Naward  Castle,  Dcxx.11 

In  toto,  summis  conjunctis,  ut  supra  patet,  MMM.  Dccciiij.xx 
iiij.11  xj.8  j.d" 

In  addition  to  this  book,  rentals  had  also  to  be  made  out  by 
th^Surveyor,  signed,  and  turned  over  to  the  several  bailiffs  man- 
aging estate  farms,  so  that  at  the  audit  he  could  hold  them  on 
their  accounts  if  it  were  necessary. 

Outside  the  general  survey,  this  important  officer  was  further 
charged  to  make  a  secret  survey  of  all  the  estate  so  that  he  could 
ascertain  where  it  was  possible  to  exploit  any  commodity,  or  in 
any  way  enhance  his  lord's  profits.  This  included  looking 
".  .  .  into  all  perticuler  farmes,  so  well  in  lease,  as  out  of 
lease,  where  by  his  knowledge,  the  lorde  may  make  his  com- 
moditie  or  promts  thereof,  as  occesione  shall  arise  from  tyme 
to  tyme."  It  meant,  likewise,  that  this  man  of  clever  insight 
must  be  alert  on  his  rounds  to  ferret  out  any  possible  latent 
wealth  —  likely  wood  sales,  the  existence  of  stone  or  slate  quar- 
ries, or  mines,  perchance ;  all  such,  he  had  to  report,  either  to  the 
lord  personally,  or  to  his  chief  officials,  whereupon,  at  the  audit, 
which  was  a  kind  of  business  Alpha  and  Omega  —  an  estate 
clearing  house,  orders  could  be  given  for  working  these  new 
sources  of  revenue. 

Not  content  with  his  report  on  well  assured  financial  projects, 
the  JSurveyor  was  compelled  to  be  on  hand  personally  at  the 
audit,  where  he  presented  before  the  Auditor  and  other  officials 
any  source  of  profit  he  suspected  might  arise  to  his  lord's  bene- 


138  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [412 

fit ;  a  warrant  could  be  thereupon  issued  for  testing  the  proposed 
schemes,  the  same  to  be  called  in  upon  the  next  audit  when  its 
usefulness  as  a  money  venture  was  examined. 

Finally  the  Surveyor  was  by  no  means  a  mere  automaton,  as- 
certaining by  rule  and  divining  rod  an  estimate  ofhis  employer's 
resources.  By  virtue  of  his  calling  he  went  in  and  out  among 
tenants  —  and  perforce  saw  their  condition  intimately,  so  that 
a  generous  master,  taking  advantage  of  this,  might  have  his  ser- 
vant's quick  eye  trained  to  kindly  purposes  as  well.  Thus  in 
1561,  Mr.  Sampson,  Surveyor  for  Richard  Bertie  and  his  Coun- 
tess, distributed  £3 :5  :8.  to  poor  tenants  in  his  survey.6  Aside 
from  gentle  philanthropies  of  this  sort,  it  was  well  within  the 
scope  of  these  officers'  functions  to  make  life  a  trifle  easier  for 
tenants  simply  through  upright  dealing.  On  this  very  score, 
Richard  Brathwait  takes  occasion  in  his  characterization  of 
servitors  operating  between  lord  and  tenants,  to  plead  for  men 
of  good  conscience  in  those  stations  —  men  ".  .  .  indifferent- 
ly to  deale  betwixt  the  Lord  and  the  Tenants,  that  their  harde 
and  severe  dealinge  bring  not  to  their  Lorde,  insteede  of  honour, 
infamye. "  If  the  lord  allows  them  to  attend  to  the  letting  of 
his  lands,  they  are  ".  .  .  above  all  thinges  to  keepe  their 
handes  free  from  taking  of  bribes:  for  every  pound  by  any  of 
them  so  received  will  hinder  their  Lord  tenn  poundes,  at  the 
least."  "I  crave  pardon,"  he  continues,  "to  write  that  which 
in  my  harte  I  have  conceived,  even  with  greefe  of  minde.  Hav- 
ing lived  above  threescore  yeares,  in  which  time  I  am  sure  ther 
hath  bene  more  enclosing  of  Landes,  racking  and  raysing  of 
rente,  with  extreme  fining  of  poore  Tenants  than  were  in  three 
hundred  yeares  before;  and  yet  in  this  time  I  have  knowne  the 
patrimony  of  many  noble  houses  wasted  and  decayed,  which 
causeth  me  to  thincke  that  God  with  this  harde  dealing  is  dis- 
pleased. And  therefore  I  hartely  wish  and  earnestly  desire  that 
both  Lordes  and  their  officers  will  not  give  cause  vnto  their  poore 
Tenants,  in  eating  of  their  hungry  meales,  to  curse  them  with 
their  harte ;  .  .  . "  7  Here,  to  be  sure,  is  an  old  man 's  wail 
against  the  hard  economies  of  his  day,  with  its  alluring,  easy 
' '  look  on  this  picture,  then  on  that ' '  —  the  happy,  fanciful  one 

6  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  464. 

7  Brathwait,  6-7. 


413]  FINANCIAL   MANAGEMENT  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  139 

of  the  good  old  Elysium  three  hundred  years  back!  Neverthe- 
less, the  observation  is  instructive;  perhaps  it  was  not  solely  be- 
cause of  his  keener  intelligence,  that  the  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland's Surveyor  was  a  priest!  8 

The  post  of  Receiver-General  was  one  of  the  chief  official  sta- 
tions in  the  household,  and  certainly  the  position  of  highest 
trust  in  the  domestic  service.  This  officer  had  in  his  keeping  all 
the  funds  coming  in  from  the  estates.  As  already  mentioned,  he 
stood  charged  in  his  own  person,  or  through  under  Receivers,  by 
the  Surveyor 's  rental  book,  with  the  ".  .  .  rentes  of  all  man- 
ners, lordshipps,  demeanes,  hamelettes,  farmes,  or  any  other  com- 
modities arisinge  within  .  .  .  (the)  office  of  survey.  .  .  "* 
On  this  basis,  when  rents  from  any  source  fell  due,  he  sent  his 
letter*  to  the  bailiffs,  or  whoever  had  money  owing  the  lord,  and 
such  were  bound  to  bring  in  the  amounts  when  and  where  he 
stipulated j  upon  his  receipt  of  such  money,  he  turned  over  a 
signedirrH:  of  receipt  to  the  payer,  who  was  held  strictly  account- 
abj.e,  like  every  man  entrusted  with  any  charge. 

The  ^Receiver  had  his  own  account  book  to  keep,  and  in  it  had 
to  be  particularly  noted  what  sums  came  in,  when,  from  whom 
and  under  what  title  or  cause,  that  is,  for  what  —  all  plainly  set 
down.  He  had  to  acquaint  his  lord  from  time  to  time,  with  the 
amounts  of  money  he  was  receiving;  while  in  some  households, 
like  that  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  the  very  closest 
constant  scrutiny  of  him  and  his  book-keeping  was  maintained. 
Thus,  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year,  the  earl's  Receiver- 
General  had  time  provided  him  for  casting  up  his  reckonings, 
and  clearing  scores  with  all  the  other  clerks  who  had  got  sums 
of  money  from  him  during  the  past  week.  When  rentals  came 
in,  whatever  else  he  may  have  been  doing  —  that,  he  was  free  to 
drop  for  his  more  proper  work.  At  such  times  he  entered  the 
receipt  of  the  money  in  his  book,  before  a  witness  selected  by 
Northumberland,  and  had  to  get  the  same  signed  by  the  head  of 
the  household,  likewise  before  a  witness  of  the  latter 's  choosing, 
previous  to  delivering  his  acquittance  to  him  who  paid  in  the 
money.  Each  Saturday  he  was  compelled  to  balance  up  his  re- 
ceipts and  deliveries,  from  the  beginning  of  the  household  year 

s  Northumberland  Household  SooTc,  323. 
s  Breviate. 


140  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [414 

(Michaelmas)  to  that  date,  and  to  hand  in  to  his  lord  a  bill 
showing  the  amount  of  money  on  hand;  with  this  he  presented 
another  bill  of  the  week's  receipts  and  expenditures,  so  that  the 
Cofferer10  could  at  once  disclose,  either  his  week's  balance  in 
hand,  or  the  sum  lacking  for  a  complete  payment  of  the  running 
expenses. 

The  Receiver  too,  like  the  other  principal  officers  in  the  house- 
hold, had  to  be  an  accomplished  Figaro.  In  addition  to  his  vir- 
tues as  an  accurate  and  trusted  exchequer  clerk,  a  ready  wit  and 
handy  adaptability  must  enable  him,  should  occasion  require,  to 
talk  to  the  point  with  a  stubborn  or  recalcitrant  bailiff  —  settle 
a  dispute  between  tenants,  evaluate  a  field,  estimate  a  damage  — 
anything,  to  expedite  getting  in  his  sine  qua  non  —  the  rentals.11 

John  Carleton,  Receiver  in  1523  for  Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  thus 
describes  certain  of  his  activities  in  March  of  that  year,  entering 
the  same  in  his  book  under  ' '  Necessary  Costes ' '  — 

' '  Item,  paid,  the  last  day  of  Marche,  in  the  fourteenth  yere  of 
the  reign  of  Kyng  Henry  the  VIIIth,  for  the  costs  of  me,  John 
Carleton,  and  my  servaunte  rydyng  from  Endefeld  to  Holt  and 
Cley  in  Norfolk  to  trye  out  ther  the  lande,  both  free  and  bonde, 
that  is  in  traverse  betwixt  Gregory  Cause  and  William  Dykson, 
and  seeng  and  veueng  the  decay  of  the  Haven  there  thorow  the 
inneng  (i.e.  enclosing)  of  a  marsh  at  Saltehouse  by  Sir  John 
Heydon,  knyght,  and  so  rydyng  along  after  the  see  coste  to  Mas- 
ter Paston  place  at  Paston,  and  then  with  hym  to  Yermouth, 
and  Castre,  and  so  to  Sporle  and  Pagrave  by  Swaffham  in  Nor- 
folk to  see  and  veue  the  grounde  and  lordship  there,  and  to  trye 
the  valour  therof,  and  seeng  an  estate  therof  taken  and  geven  to 
the  seid  Mr.  Paston,  and  upon  that  goyng  to  Thetford  to  th' 
assise  ther,  and  so  to  Norwich  with  Mr.  Brooke,  juge,  to  take  a 
knowlage  (i.e.  acknowledgment)  of  Sir  William  Paston  and 

10  Northumberland 's  Receiver  was  likewise  his  Treasurer  or  ' '  Cofferer ' ' 
as  he  was  called.  —  Household  Book,  224. 

11  Northumberland 'a  Eeceiver  had  still  other  functions :     ' '  ITEM  that 
he  that  shal  be  apointed  at  Mychaelmas  in  the  Cliequirroill  for  the  Yeire  as 
Coufferer  To  stand  chargid  with  all  my  Lordes  Receites  for  the  Yeire  And 
as  Gentleman  Huyssher  and  to  stand  ehargid  with  my  Lordis  Plaite  and 
Jewell  With   oithur   asignid  and  Joined  unto  him  And   to   have  for  his 
Houlshould  Waigis  for  that  cause  —  Ixvjs.  viijd."  —  Household  Book,  394- 
395. 


415]  FINANCIAL   MANAGEMENT   IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  141 

Dame  Brigette  Paston,  his  wif,  of  ther  lordshippes  of  Sporle  and 
Pagrave  to  the  use  of  Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  knyght,  and  with  other 
besynes  by  the  space  of  xxiiij  dayes  complete,  xxxjs.viijd." 

'  '  Item,  payd  for  the  costes  of  William  Berners,  Lawrance 
Foxley  and  myself  to  deliver  d  li.  by  wey  of  lone  upon  a  prevy 
seall  to  Sir  Henry  Wyott,  knyght,  thresorour  of  the  Kynge's 
chamber,  to  be  repaied  at  Candlemas  next  by  the  tenure  (i.e. 
tenor)  of  the  same,  xjs.iiijd."  —  and  once  more,  an  entry  for 
this  same  year  under  his  title  —  '  '  The  sewte  of  diverse  persones 
at  the  comon  lawe"  — 

"Item  payd  to  Maister  Lees,  elerke  of  the  Councell  in  the 
Stert  (sic)  Chamber,  for  the  copy  of  a  bill  of  compleynt  made 
by  the  person  and  of  diverse  of  the  tenantes  of  Blakeney  in  Nor- 
folk, and  put  up  to  my  Lord  Cardynall  in  the  Starte  Chamber 
aneynst  diverse  of  my  maister's  tenauntes  of  Cley  for  puttyng 
downe  of  a  banke  made  without  leve  on  my  master's  grounde 
and  lettyng  the  water  of  the  Haven  his  old  course,  v  s.  "  12 

Carleton  may  have  had  little  to  do  with  this  piece  of  work  be- 
yond the  fee  which  he  paid  to  "Maister  Lees";  he  dispatched 
that  business,  however,  and  recorded  its  accomplishment  in  an 
understanding  fashion,  thereby  nicely  justifying  B  rath  wait's 
point  in  his  description  of  officers  like  the  Receiver  —  "They 
should  not  be  ignorant  how  to  follow  sutes  in  law  :  for,  albeit  the 
Earle  have  a  Sollicitor,13  yet  if  a  cheefe  Officer  (that  is  knowne 
to  be  in  creditt  with  his  Lorde)  come  with  him  either  to  Serjeant 
or  Counsellor  his  chamber,  he  will  be  the  better  regarded  and 
sooner  dispatched,  especially  if  the  Earle  be  not  in  London."1* 
rWhen  money  was  wanted  by  the  master  of  the  house,  perhaps 
for  the  Steward  or  for  any  purpose  whatever,  he  issued  a  war- 
rant for  the  requisite  amount,  under  his  own  hand,  on  his  Re- 
ceiver, whereupon  the  funds  should  be  forthcoming.  The  war- 
rants later  served  as  evidence  or  vouchers  in  auditing  the  Re- 
ceiver's accounts.  In  1514,  it  had  been  determined  that  seven 
warrants  were  necessary  for  Northumberland's  household  bud- 
get, in  the  course  of  a  year.  Three  of  these  fell  in  the  first 
quarter  —  between  Michaelmas  and  Christmas,  and  were  issued 


.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  263. 
is  Ibid.,  260,  where  Lovell  is  seen  to  have  had  his  legal  advisor  too. 
"Brathwait.  7. 


142  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [416 

on  the  Receiver  for  the  earl's  lands  in  Northumberland,  Cum- 
berland and  Yorkshire  respectively,  on  rents  for  the  so-called 
"Michaelmas  ferm"  (i.e.  farm,  or  rental).  Two  fell  in  the  sec- 
ond quarter,  that  is,  between  Christmas  and  Lady-Day  in  Lent; 
these  were  drawn  on  the  Receivers  in  Yorkshire  and  Northum- 
berland, on  rentals  of  the  Martinmas  farm,  while  the  last  two 
fell,  one  in  each  remaining  quarter,  i.e.  Lady-Day  to  Mid- 
summer, and  Mid-summer  to  Michaelmas  again,  drawn  on  the 
Receivers  in  Cumberland  and  Northumberland,  and  payable 
from  Martinmas  and  Whitsunday  rentals.15 

A  nice  regulation  was  elaborately  established  adjusting  pur- 
chase of  provisions  of  all  sorts,  payment  of  wages,  in  fact,  all 
the  diverse  household  expenses,  to  the  periods  when  this  money 
was  available.16  Northumberland's  warrants  themselves  were 
the  customary  triumphs  of  intricate,  clumsy  pomposity,  couched 
in  the  very  style  and  semblance  of  their  Royal  prototypes  — 

"WELBILOVYD  I  grete  you  wele  and  wol  ande  strately 
charge  you  without  delay  as  ye  intende  to  have  me  your  good 
Lorde  ande  wol  exchew  that  at  may  insew  unto  you  for  the  con- 
trary doyng  at  your  jeopardy  Faill  not  to  content  ande  pay  to 
my  welbiloved  Servaunts  Robart  Percy  Countroller  of  my  Hous 
ande  Gilbert  "Weddell  Cheefe  Clarke  of  my  Kichyng  standyng 
charged  with  my  saide  House  for  the  vijth  and  last  payment  of 
th '  Assign ement  assigned  unto  theym  for  the  kepyng  of  my  saide 
Hous  for  this  Yere  begynnyng  at  Michaelmas  in  the  vjth  Yere  of 
the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lorde  Kyng  Henry  the  viijth  and 
shall  ende  at  Michaelmas  next  following  of  the  Revenus  of  all 
my  Landes  in  Northumberlande  to  your  handes  comyng  devi^ 
to  my  Coffers  of  the  Whitsonday  Ferm  payabill  at  Lambmas  Ye 
content  and  pay  the  Some  of  ciiijl.xiiijs.ixd.  in  redy  Monay 
over  ande  besids  that  they  have  xv  1.  vj  s.  charged  upon  theym 
the  saide  tyme  as  parcell  of  there  Assignement  as  in  the  Fermes 
of  divers  Meddowes  ande  Pastures  at  Lekyngfeld  ande  "Wresill  as 
it  appereth  more  playnly  in  the  Booke  of  Orders  of  my  saide 
Hous  for  the  makyng  up  of  cxxjl.  ixd.  assigned  unto  theym  in 
the  iiijth  quarter  bitwixt  Midsommer  and  Michaelmas  Whiche  is 
in  full  payment  of  there  Hole  Assignement  for  this  Hoole  Yere 

is  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  111-112. 
is  Ibid.,  30-33. 


417]  FINANCIAL.   MANAGEMENT   IN   THE   HOUSEHOLD  143 

endyng  at  the  said  Michaelmas  next  for  to  come  GEVEN  under 
my  Signet  and  Sign  Manuell  at  my  Manour  of  Leckyngfeld  the 
xxjth  day  of  Novembre  in  the  vjth  Yere  of  the  reign  of  our  Sov- 
erayn  Lord  Kyng  Henry  the  viijth. 

To  my  Trusty  Servaunt  WILLIAM  WORME 
Gentleman  Usher  of  my  Chambre  my  Coffurer 
ande  my  Receyvoure  Generall  of  all 
my  Lands  in  the  North  Parties  for  this  Yere."  " 

Poor  Worme!  with  what  nervous  agility  he  must  have  des- 
patched his  uneasy  duty,  before  the  grandiloquent  insistence  of 
so  imperial  a  summons! 

"The  auditor  beeing  the  laste  of  all  offecers,  is  to  bee  judge 
betwixte  the  lorde  and  his  accomptants,  and  to  deale  trulie  for 
and  betweene  all  parties,  and  upon  the  determinac 'on  of  his 
audite,  to  presente  to  his  lorde  by  booke  or  breviate,  all  his  re- 
ceiptes,  expences,  imprestes,  whatsoever,  with  the  remaines  of 
monye,  if  any  bee.  .  ." 18  In  such  form  were  the  accounts  of 
Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth,  as  audited  in  1612  by 
Thomas  Clay.19  First  were  carefully  tabulated  in  detail  all  the 
rents  collected  by  Receivers,  or  directly  paid  in  to  the  Steward, 
from  Cumberland,  Northumberland,  Yorkshire,  Durham  and 
Westmoreland;  following  these,  also  as  part  of  the  Lord's  in- 
come, were  entered  the  "Forreine  Recepts"  —  sums  of  money 
paid  for  all  manner  of  stuff  sold,  including,  that  year,  trees, 
coal,  wood,  hay,  dung,  etc.,  in  addition  to  certain  park  and  mill 
rentals,  fines,  and  other  odd  accounts.  After  the  receipts,  fol- 
low, also  in  minute  detail,  all  the  year's  expenses  —  "My  Lord's 
Parcells,"  those  for  "My  Ladie  And  The  Little  Gent"  — in- 
cluding, in  each  case,  every  item  of  personal  expenditure  — 
"Pensions  or  Annuities,"  "Law  Charges,"  "Lands  Purchased," 
"Servants'  Wages,"  "Fresh  Acaites,"  "Salt  and  Salt  Store," 
"Rewards,"  "Building,  Reparation,  Woorkmen,"  "Husbandrie, 
Heards,  And  Husbandman,"  "Utensiles  or  Necessaries,"  "Gro- 
cery," "Mault,"  "Bigg  and  Peas,"  "Gates,"  "Wheat," 

17  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  132-133. 

is  Breviate,  328. 

19  The  accounts  appear  to  be  the  Steward  'a,  at  least  his  signature  fol- 
lows the  title.  —  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard*  of  Naworth 
Castle,  1. 


144  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [418 

"Hops,"  "Wine,"  "Lights,"  "Stable  Charges,"  "Horses  and 
Cattle  Bought,"  "Biding  Charges  and  Errands,"  "Poore," 
"Monie  Imprest,  Lent  or  Repaid,"  "Dueties  to  Brampton  and 
Other  Places,"  "Mills,"  (cost  items  of  any  repairs)  "Extra- 
ordinary Payments,"  "Linen  Cloth  and  Yarne,"  "Carriage  of 
Things  from  Newcastle,"  (i.e.  transportation  charges  from  that 
port  town)  and  lastly,  "Eldin"  or  fuel.  Under  each  of  these 
headings  appear  all  of  the  itemized  expenses  with  their  ' '  Summa 
Total"  and  the  symbol  of  the  Auditor's  visa  —  "Ex.  per  Tho. 
Clay,  Auditor,"  to  duly  summarize  and  authenticate.  A  com- 
plete total  was  also  drawn  up  — 

"Summa  totalis  Expensarum,  solucionum,  et  allocacionum. 
hoc  anno  xj.mo  Regis  Jacobi,  M.M.D.  xxj."  xvj.8  ij.d"  with  the 
balance  on  hand  down  to  a  farthing  —  "Remanent  in  manu 
hujus  computantis,  ccccj.11  ix.d  ob.q."  —  likewise  with  Clay's 
signature.20 

That  part  of  the  Auditor's  accounting  which  had  to  do  with 
court  perquisites,  was  executed  through  information  which 
might  be  conveyed  to  him  by  an  officer  known  as  the  "Learned 
Steward."  This  man  received  notice  from  the  lord,  of  all  the 
courts  he  intended  to  hold,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  jury, 
he  assessed  the  fines  for  the  misdemeanor  tried,  saw  them  es- 
treated, along  with  other  court  dues,  and  delivered  over  to  the 
bailiff  for  levy,  which  latter  servitor,  upon  receipt  of  the  money, 
turned  it  over  to  the  Receiver  as  part  of  the  lord 's  profits.  The 
Learned  Steward  had  likewise  to  inform  the  Auditor  of  these 
court  profits,  who  in  turn,  could  thus  hold  the  bailiffs  to  their 
true  accounts. 

Once  he  began  upon  his  books,  the  Auditor  remained  right  in 
his  room,  his  food  allowances  and  other  necessaries,  being  carried 
in  to  him,  ".  .  .  tne  chardge  and  truste  beinge  soe  greate,  so 
well  betwixt  the  lorde  and  his  accomptantes,  as  betwixt  partie 
and  partie,  .  .  ."  Books  were  balanced  and  accounts  audit- 
ed once  or  twice  a  year,  as  the  lord  dictated,  after  which  was 
held  the  "declaration  of  the  audit"  —  a  checking  of  accounts  in 
the  presence  of  the  lord,  Surveyor,  Receiver  and  Auditor,  or 
whoever,  as  in  the  Derby  household,  sat  in  the  domestic  council 
of  the  noble  master.21 

20  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  1-66. 

21  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  34-35,  63,  and  89. 


419]  FINANCIAL.   MANAGEMENT  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  145 

When  the  audit  was  taken  in  .Northumberland's  establish- 
ment, the  household  was  temporarily  reorganized  on  a  much 
smaller  scale  (some  forty-two  people  constituting  its  diminished 
personnel)  —  in  one  of  the  lesser  houses  belonging  to  the  earl, 
usually  at  New  Lodge,  and  the  process  was  called  "keeping  the 
Secret  House."  This  was  done  to  give  the  responsible  servants 
and  officers  full  hours  unmolested  for  their  work  at  the  account- 
ing.  At  this  time  all  the  possessions  of  his  Grace  were  invoiced, 
down  to  the  very  ward-robe  stuff,  and  along  with  the  busy  of- 
ficers and  clerks  engaged  in  the  accounting,  were  representatives 
from  most  of  the  household  departments;  among  others,  for  ex- 
ample, the  following  — ' '  THE  Yoman  of  the  Bedds  that  staunds 
chargid  with  my  Lords  Warderob  Stuff  For  the  Delyvre  of  the 
saide  Stuffe  at  the  accompt.  The  Skynner  that  is  in  my  Lords 
Warderob  For  the  helpynge  to  receyve  the  saide  Stuffe  when 
it  is  charged  agayne  into  the  Office."  The  two  Grooms  of  the 
Ward-robe  ".  .  .  For  the  Berynge  of  the  said  Stuffe  to  the 
Warderob  agayne  when  it  is  charged  at  the  Accompt  to  the 
Office."22 

In  conclusion,  the  labors  of  these  several  officers  resulted  each 
year  in  a  goodly  crop  of  valuable  papers,  and  all  such  accounts 
and  records  of  surveys  were  kept  along  with  other  documents  of 

value  in  a  room  called  the  ' '  Evidence  House. ' '    The  key  of  this 

' 

chamber  was  kept  by  the  lord  himself  and  no  one  was  allowed 
therein  except  in  the  master's  presence,  unless  it  were  some 
especially  trusted  servant.  Brathwait,  drawing  upon  what  he 
doubtless  had  seen,  describes  with  clerk-like  satisfaction  his  idea 
of  a  properly  equipped  strong  room  — " .  .  .  I  wish  the 
Earle  to  have  in  his  house  a  chamber  very  stronge  and  close,  the 
walls  should  be  of  stone  or  bricke,  the  dore  should  be  overplated 
with  iron,  the  better  to  defend  it  from  danger  of  fire :  The  keyes 
therof  the  Earle  himselfe  is  to  keepe.  In  this  Chamber  should 
be  cubbards  of  drawing  boxes,  shelves,  and  standards,  with  a 
convenient  Table  to  write  upon ;  and  upon  every  drawing  box  is 
to  be  written  the  name  of  the  Mannor  or  Lordship,  the  Evidence 
wherof  that  box  doth  containe.  And  looke  what  Letters  Patents, 
Charters,  Deeds,  Feofements,  or  other  writings,  or  Fines,  are  in 
every  box ;  a  paper  role  is  to  be  made  in  the  saide  box,  wherin  is 
to  be  sett  downe  everv  severall  deede  or  writing,  that  when  the 


146  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [420 

Earle,  or  any  for  him,  hath  occasion  to  make  search  for  any 
Evidence  or  writing,  he  may  see  by  that  Role,  whether  the  same 
be  in  that  box  or  not.  In  the  Standerds  and  upon  the  Shelves 
are  to  be  placed  Courte  Roles,  Auditor's  accompts,  Bookes  of 
Survey,  etc.  Also  empty  boxes  both  for  Letters  patents  and 
other  Evidences,  when  ther  is  cause  to  carry  them  out  of  that 
chamber.  If  ther  be  occasion,  of  search  to  be  made  for  any  Evi- 
dence in  this  house  (the  Earle  himself e  not  being  present) ; 
vnder  two  persons  at  the  least  should  not  enter  therin;  and  if 
they  take  out  any  Evidence  or  writings,  in  the  same  boxe  out  of 
which  they  be  taken  they  are  to  leave,  vnder  their  hands,  in 
writing,  the  name  of  every  such  Deede  or  "Writing  as  by  them  is 
taken  forth,  and  the  cause  for  which  they  did  it,  and  the  day 
and  yeare  of  their  so  doing,  and  also  by  what  warrant:  for  the 
Earle  ought  to  have  more  care  of  the  safe  keeping  of  his  Evi- 
dences, than  either  of  his  plate  or  Jewells/* 23 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  had  two  evidence  houses,  one 
in  each  of  his  castles,  Leckinfield  and  Wressil.  A  servant  was 
constantly  in  charge  of  each  house  and  its  precious  contents,  to 
whom  my  ".  .  .  Lorde  useth  ande  accustomyth  to  gyf  as  in 
Annuitie  by  Warraunt  to  be  paide  owt  of  his  Lordshipis  Cof- 
fures  .  .  .  for  standynge  charged  with  the  delyvray  of  my 
said  Lordis  Evidences  owt  and  for  receyvynge  of  them  in  again 
To  be  paid  quarterly  after  xxs.  a  quarter  and  for  the  hole  Yere 
—  iiij  I."24 

The  interest  of  most  noblemen  in  their  finances  was  intense 
and  constant,  and  where  such  was  not  the  case,  a  zealous  officer 
of  the  household  might  properly  recall  to  his  negligent  master, 
the  latter 's  obligation  regarding  his  exchequer.  On  one  occasion, 
Lord  Willoughby,  absorbed  in  the  weighty  responsibilities  of  the 
campaign  in  the  Netherlands,  received  a  familiar  letter,  from 
one  of  his  servants  —  John  Stubbe,  in  which  his  Grace  was  em- 
phatically besought  in  part  as  follows :  —  "  1586,  May  14.  Lon- 
don, Barbican. "  ' '  From  your  own  open  gallery  there. "  —  "  Myn 
honorable  good  lord,  I  know  well  your  daily  and  nightly  labors 
and  waches  may  well  excuse  youre  not  wrighting  or  short 
wrighting.  .  .  Good  my  lord,  be  not  driven  nor  drawn  from 

as  Brathwait,  18. 

z*  Northumberland  Household  Book,  379,  351. 


421]  FINANCIAL   MANAGEMENT  IN   THE   HOUSEHOLD  147 

understanding  your  own  state.  Lobke  into  .your  own  accompts, 
as  your  leisure  may  serve.  Be  auditor  auditorum  in  all  your 
own  business.  My  lord  Tresurer  will  do  so.  My  Lord  of  Le- 
cestre  doth  so.  The  wise  Lord  Keeper  wold  do  so.  Hir  Majes- 
ties self  will  do  so.  Berg-en  op  Zoon  is  but  a  chery  fare.  It  is 
Lincolnshire  Holland  (i.e.  the  county,  in  England)  that  must 
cherish  your  honorable  age.  .  . "  25 

It  was,  then,  through  the  carefully  supervised  service  of  this 
highly  specialized  and  competent  officialdom,  that  the  Tudor 
nobility  diligently  sought  to  rightly  husband  their  wealth,  main- 
tain a  comfortable  balance  under  the  thrift  columns  in  their 
ledgers,  and  avoid  that  wretched  and  disgraceful  dilemma  — 
land  sales,  against  which  shrewd  old  Burghley  so  emphatically 
warned  his  son. 


25  Grimsthorpe  Rouse  Papers,  351. 


CHAPTER  VII 

GREAT  CHAMBER  AND  HALL  SERVICE  IN  THE 
HOUSEHOLD 

Yet  if  his  majesty  our  sovereign  lord 

Should  of  his  own  accord 

Friendly  himself  invite, 

And  say  "  I  '11  be  your  guest  tomorrow  night, ' ' 

How  should  we  stir  ourselves,  call  and  command 

All  hands  to  work!     Let  no  man  idle  stand. 

Set  me  fine  Spanish  table  in  the  hall, 

See  they  be  fitted  all; 

Let  there  be  room  to  eat, 

And  order  taken  that  there  want  no  meat. 

See  every  sconce  and  candlestick  made  bright, 

That  without  tapers  they  may  give  a  light. 

Look  to  the  presence:  are  the  carpets  spread, 

The  dais  o'er  the  head, 

The  cushions  in  the  chairs, 

And  all  the  candles  lighted  on  the  staira? 

Let  each  man  give  attendance  in  his  place. 

—  Elizabethan  Lyrics  —  BTTLLEN. 

Among  the  many  rooms  and  apartments  which  the  castles  of 
the  English  nobility  invariably  contained,  there  were  always 
two  of  conspicuous  importance  in  the  routine  life  of  the  house- 
hold; these  were  the  Great,  or  Dining  Chamber,  and  the  Great 
Hall.  The  Great  Chamber  was  generally  on  the  second  floor  — 
" above  stairs"  was  the  common  expression  in  regard  to  its  loca- 
tion,—  near  the  head  of  the  principal  or  grand  stairway;  with 
the  exception  of  the  Hall,  it  was  probably  the  largest  room  in 
the  castle,  and  could  conveniently  accommodate  quite  an  as- 
semblage. Thus  the  Great  Chamber  in  Raglan  Castle,  the  seat 
of  the  Earls  of  Worcester,  in  Monmouthshire,  was  forty-nine  by 
twenty-one  feet,1  while  that  at  Haddon  House  in  Derbyshire, 

i  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  2. 

148 


423]  GREAT   CHAMBER  AND   HALL   SERVICE  149 

one  of  the  residences  of  the  Eark  of  Rutland,  was  probably 
about  two-thirds  as  large  as  the  Hall  itself.2 

The  Hall  was  situated  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  castle,  and 
its  proportions,  always  majestic,  were  no  mean  gauge  of  the 
wealth  and  position  of  its  noble  owner.  In  the  royal  palaces  the 
Great  Halls  were  truly  splendid,  that  at  Eltham  being  one  hun- 
dred and  one  feet  long,  and  thirty-six  feet  in  width ;  its  isolated 
location  furthermore,  permitted  of  ten  windows  down  either 
side,  in  addition  to  bow  windows  which  were  fourteen  feet  wide 
and  ten  feet  deep.3  The  more  modest  Great  Hall  of  Raglan 
Castle,  as  described  by  a  contemporary  was  ".  .  .  66  feet 
long  and  28  feet  broad,  having  a  rare  geometrical  roof  built  of 
Irish  oak,  with  a  large  cupola  on  top  for  light,  besides  a  com- 
pass window  16  feet  high  in  the  light,  and  as  much  in  compass, 
with  two  or  three  large  windows  more  in  the  upper  end. ' '  *  Sir 
John  Pastolfe's  Great  Hall  in  his  Castle  at  Caister  near  Yar- 
mouth was  fifty-nine  feet  by  twenty-eight  feet,5  and  Sanford, 
who  visited  Kirkoswald  in  1610,  says  of  the  Hall  — ' '  The  Hall  I 
have  seen,  100  feet  long ;  and  the  great  portraiture  of  King  Brut 
lying  in  the  end  of  the  roof  of  this  Hall,  and  of  all  his  succeed- 
ing successors  Kings  of  England  portraicted  to  the  waist,  their 
visage,  hats,  feathers,  garbs,  and  habits,  in  the  roof  of  this 
hall;  .'.;"• 

The  Great  Chamber  and  the  Hall  were  the  principal  living 
rooms  in  the  house  throughout  the  day  —  up  to  the  time  of  re- 
tiring, in  fact  —  a  full  servant  equipment  being  provided  for 
both  places  between  meals,  while  during  repasts  each  was  en- 
livened by  the  operation  of  the  elaborate  regimen  observed  for 
properly  serving  up  all  food  to  table. 

Back  in  the  early  part  of  the  16th  century,  (c.  1512.),  the  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland  had  daily  servant  attendance  in  his 
Great  Chamber  between  meals  carefully  proportioned  among 
three  groups  of  servitors  —  for  morning,  afternoon  and  evening. 
Twenty  hands  were  on  duty  in  the  forenoon,  nineteen  men  and  a 
child,  of  whom  six  were  Gentlemen  —  an  Usher,  a  Carver,  a 

2  Archaeologia,  VT,  358  (Plate). 

s  Ibid.,  367. 

*  M SS.  of  Duke  of  Beaufort,  2. 

5  Inventory  of  effects,  etc.,  Archaeologia,  XXI,  273,  note. 

«  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  513. 


150  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [424 

Sewer,  and  a  Cup-bearer  to  my  lord,  a  Waiter  for  the  board- 
end,  and  a  Marshal  of  the  Hall.  Ten  were  Yeomen  and 
Grooms,  while  four  were  Yeomen  and  Groom  officers  —  Yeoman 
Usher  of  the  Hall,  Yeoman  of  the  Pantry,  Groom  of  the  Buttery 
and  Groom  of  the  Ewery.  The  Gentlemen,  Yeomen  and  Grooms 
came  on  duty  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  staid  until 
one  o'clock  P.M.,  serving  through  dinner.  This  was  their  prin- 
cipal service ;  they  then  had  leisure  to  dovas  they  liked  from  one 
until  three  o'clock,  when  evensong  was  rung  and  "drinkings" 
served,  whereupon  they  were  to  return  to  duty  "Ande  they  not 
to  faill  than  to  com  in  again  And  raither  yf  any  straungers 
cum."  The  same  regulation  governed  the  four  Yeomen  and 
Groom  officers,  except  that  their  duties  commenced  at  six  o'clock, 
A.M.,  enduring  until  eight  o'clock  when  they  went  into  their  of- 
fices for  serving  breakfasts;  that  done,  they  again  returned  to 
attendance  from  nine  o'clock  until  ten,  when  dinner  commenced. 

In  the  afternoon  a  new  shift  of  eighteen,  changed  somewhat 
in  personnel,  came  on ;  the  first  group  of  Gentlemen,  the  same  in 
function,  serving  now,  however,  to  my  lady  —  while  a  "Yoman 
Usher  of  the  Chamber  to  my  Lady ' '  was  added  to  their  number ; 
they  commenced  attendance  at  one  o'clock,  having  served  at  din- 
ner, from  ten  to  one,  and  remained  on  until  four  o'clock,  P.M., 
when  supper  was  served.  The  Yeomen  and  Grooms  in  this  sec- 
ond shift  were  reduced  to  seven,  with  terms  of  service  like  the 
Gentlemen;  there  were  four  Yeoman  and  Groom  officers,  but 
they  now  stood  Yeoman  of  the  Beds,  of  the  Buttery,  Groom  of 
the  Pantry,  and  Groom  Usher  of  the  Hall.  These  latter  were  in 
their  offices  during  dinner,  from  ten  to  one  o'clock,  and  in  at- 
tendance from  one  until  three  o'clock,  when  they  again  repaired 
to  their  offices  for  the  service  of  drinkings.  This  latter  was  a 
short  work,  so  that  that  attendance  really  endured  until  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  supper  was  served.  The  after- 
noon group  of  servants  were  free  in  the  forenoon,  from  seven  to 
ten  o'clock. 

Evening  attendance  which  lasted  from  seven  to  nine  o'clock, 
was  given  by  both  groups  of  Gentlemen,  Yeomen  and  Grooms  — 
thirty  hands  in  all,  while  Yeomen  and  Groom  officers  were  re- 
lieved from  duty,  time  being  then  allowed  them  for  their  day's 
accounting.7  Such  was  the  stately  personal  attendance  between 

7  Northumberland  Household  Book,  309  et  seq. 


425]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  151 

meals,  truly  royal  in  character,  enjoyed  by  this  great  North- 
country  earl  in  the  early  Tudor  period. 

Somewhat  later  than  this  time,  it  was  customary  for  the  Gen- 
tlewomen of  a  nobleman 's  wife  to  be  at  hand  in  the  Great  Cham- 
ber also  ".  .  .  for  the  better  furnishinge  of  the  same,  vidz. 
from  nyne  of* the  clocke  untill  eleven,  and  then  to  attende  theire 
ladie  to  the  chappell,  or  prayer,  and  from  one  of  the  clocke  after 
dynner,  untill  three  in  the  aftemoone,  and  then  they  maye  de- 
parte,  if  there  bee  noe  gentlewomen  stranngers  to  bee  enter- 
teyned,  untill  five  of  the  clocke;  that  supper  bee  towardes,  and 
after  supper  so  lonnge  as  theire  ladie  is  in  presence  and  noe 
longer. ' ' 8 

The  Hall,  a  less  exclusive  place,  was  constantly  under  the 
charge  of  the  Yeoman  Usher  of  the  Hall,  " .  .  .  and  his  place 
before  and  after  meales  is  to  sett  at  the  upper  ende  of  the  halle, 
or  to  walke  up  and  downe  the  hie  space  there,  and  to  enterteyne 
all  stranngers,  and  if  there  bee  any  noyce  to  still  it,  for  there  is 
noe  place  of  hie  talke  to  bee  suffered,  .  .  . "  9  this,  in  addition 
to  his  special  functions  during  meals,  of  which,  more  presently, 
and  his  superintendence  of  the  daily  cleaning  of  the  Hall. 

Responsibility  for  proper  service  between  meals  in  both  Great 
Chamber  and  Hall,  fell  to  the  Gentlemen  Ushers  of  the  Great 
Chamber.  "The  one  of  them/'  says  Brathwait,  "for  the  moste 
parte  is  to  be  in  the  great  chamber,  or  dining  chamber,  both 
forenoone  and  afternoone,  and  at  after  supper  to  see  that  the 
saide  chamber  be  furnished  with  gentlemen  waiters :  and  he  is  to 
give  warninge  to  the  Vsher  of  the  Hall,  that  it  bee  not  vnfurn- 
ished  of  yeomen,  but  that  ther  may  be  always  in  a  readines  both 
gentlemen  and  Yeomen,  to  attend  upon  the  Earle  and  Countes, 
either  within  the  house  or  abroade,  as  they  shal  be  commaund- 
ed. ' ' 10  For  the  better  fulfillment  of  these  duties,  the  Gentleman 
Usher  had  to  assist  him  on  these  occasions,  a  Gentleman  Waiter 
and  a  Yeoman  or  two,  appointed  by  himself.11 

Service  during  meals  in  the  Great  Chamber  and  the  Hall  was 
naturally  more  elaborate  still,  and  very  great  care  was  bestowed 
upon  it.  The  nobility  were  not  only  huge  consumers  of  food, 

s  Breviate,  Archaelogia,  XIII,  323. 

9  Ibid.,  333. 

10  Brathwait,  12. 
"  Breviate,  323. 


152  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [426 

but  as  proper  men  should,  they  greatly  enjoyed  eating,  coming 
to  table  with  thankful  pleasure,  and  genially  bidding  to  their 
repasts,  strangers,  great  and  small,  who  chanced  to  be  within 
their  gates.  Altogether  they  took  a  justifiable  pride  in  the  state- 
ly operation  of  the  whole  comestible  process,  carefully  choosing 
trained  officers  and  flunkies  to  conduct  its  intricate  details  skil- 
fully, for  the  reputation  and  the  general  well-being  of  their 
houses  in  the  eyes  of  their  contemporaries,  depended  no  little 
upon  the  smooth  running  of  this  machinery,  as  we  shall  see. 

In  the  first  place,  dining  was  a  considerable  part  of  each  day 's 
order;  in  fact,  the  preparation  and  eating  of  food  was  in  most 
houses  an  almost  continuous  process.  Ordinarily,  that  is  except- 
ing in  special  seasons  like  Lent,  the  establishment  of  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland  breakfasted  from  eight  until  nine  o'clock, 
that  repast  almost  merging  into  dinner,  which  was  under  way 
from  ten  until  one  o'clock,  P.M.  At  three  in  the  afternoon, 
drinkings  were  served,  while  supper  was  on  the  boards  from 
four  until  seven  o'clock,  the  day  closing  with  a  collation  called 
the  "Livery,"  served  in  this  household  at  nine,  P.M.  This 
latter  was  quite  a  substantial  fare,  its  menu  for  my  lord  and 
lady  consisting  of  ".  .  .  two  Manchetts  (a  variety  of  bread) 
a  Loof  of  Houshold  Breid  a  Gallon  of  Bere  and  a  Quarte  of 
"Wyne.  .  ."  With  the  food  were  delivered  also  the  lights  for 
the  night,  their  Graces  retiring  to  their  chambers  with  ".  .  . 
a  Pound  of  White  Lightts  conteynyng  xij  Candles  and  vi  Syses 
Viz.  iij  to  my  Lordis  Footsheit  and  iij  to  my  Ladys  Chambre."  12 

Along  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  the  hours  for  dinner  and  sup- 
per were  set  later  than  ten  o'clock  A.M.  and  four  o'clock  P.M. 
Harrison  says  "the  Nobilitie,  Gentrie,  and  Students  do  ordin- 
arilie  go  to  dinner  at  ELEVEN  before  noone,  and  to  supper  at 
five,  or  between  FIVE  and  SIX  at  af ternoone. ' ' 13  The  hour 
for  dinner,  in  the  17th  century,  in  the  houses  of  the  Earl  of 
Worcester  and  Lord  Fairfax  both,  was  eleven  o'clock,  A.M.1* 

While  all  food  was  set  forth  with  a  dignified  solemnity,  if 
one  can  judge  from  the  servant  equipment  as  it  was  appointed 
in  different  households,  dinner  was  universally  the  piece  de  re- 

12  Northumberland  Household  Book,  96,  310,  314,  317,  318,  319.     Royal 
Household  Ordinances,  89,  90. 

13  Northumberland  Household  Book,  434. 

d.,  419,  424. 


427]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  153 

sistance,  upon  who.se  elaborate  pageantry  no  pains  were  ever 
spared.  Customarily  this  mid-day  meal  was  served  in  a  well- 
ordered  progress,  adapted  to  the  various  ranks  of  people  in  a 
household,  in  the  Great  Chamber,  the  Hall  and  the  kitchen. 

In  the  Great  Chamber  two  tables  were  dressed,  one  for  the 
master  of  the  household  himself,  with  his  family,  and  a  second, 
known  as  the  Knight's  board,  because  ordinarily  it  accommodated 
any  knights  and  gentlemen  in  the  household ;  at  this  second  table 
sat  also  her  Grace's  gentlewomen.15  In  the  Hall,  likewise  were 
set  several  tables,  the  first  of  which  in  order,  was  always  the 
Officer's  board,  for  the  upper  dignitaries  in  the  household  — 
the  Steward,  Comptroller,  Receiver,  Gentleman  of  the  Horse, 
and  perhaps  others,  depending  upon  custom.  A  second  table 
might  be  called  the  Yeoman's  board,  for  at  it  were  placed  the 
Yeoman  of  the  Horse,  of  the  Beds,  and  so  on,  down,  while  below 
these  were  grouped  the  Grooms  of  the  Stable. 

The.se  several  constituted  the  first  tables;  after  them  boards 
were  again  prepared  in  the  Hall  for  the  waiters  and  others  en- 
gaged in  attendance  upon  the  first  tables,  both  in  the  Great 
Chamber  and  the  Hall.  The  Gentleman  Usher  presided  at  the 
table  of  the  Gentlemen  Waiters,  with  the  lord's  Carver  and 
Sewer  beside  him;  below  the  Gentlemen  Waiters  came  the  Yeo- 
men Ushers  of  the  Chamber  and  the  Yeomen  of  the  Cellar,  then 
the  rest  of  the  Yeomen  Waiters  and  Grooms;  still  below  these 
followed  the  Footmen,  and  the  servitors,  probably  footmen  also, 
who  had  attended  at  the  Knight's  board,  while  at  the  very  bot- 
tom of  this  table  were  grouped  the  Officer's  personal  servants. 

Another  second  table  in  the  Hall  was  known  as  the  Clerk's 
board,  presided  over  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen.  His  fellow 
diners  were  the  Master  Cook,  the  Usher  of  the  Hall,  the  Yeomen 
and  Grooms  of  the  Pantry,  Buttery,  Ewery,  the  Groom  of  the 
Cellar,  the  Achator,  the  Yeoman  of  the  Scullery,  the  Groom  of 
the  Hall,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  under  cooks.  The  rest  of  the 
members  of  the  household  —  hands  from  the  kitchen*  the  Slaugh- 
terman and  the  Groom  of  the  Scullery  had  their  dinners  in  the 
kitchen. 

This  customary  grouping  has  been  set  forth  here  in  detail, 
because  it  was  straightly  observed,  tremendous  emphasis  always 

is  Ibid.,  420,  301.     MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  3,  5.    Brathwait,  23. 


154  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [428 

being  laid  on  a  man's  status.  A  hodge-podge  table  order  were 
a  shiftless  error  indeed  —  enough  to  disgrace  a  Gentleman  Usher 
or  a  Marshal  of  the  Hall,  and  to  throw  the  entire  domestic  polity 
into  disarray;  nay  more,  so  deeply  ingrained  in  all  was  the  sense 
of  position  with  its  tinkling  attributes,  that  were  any  mistake 
in  its  observance  made  by  an  officer  in  charge,  it  possibly  had 
amounted  to  a  serious  affront  to  the  slighted  servitor,  and  might 
lead  instantly  to  a  vociferous  attempt  at  rectification  by  the 
aggrieved  one,  but  of  the  observance  of  rank  at  table,  more 
presently. 

Service  at  the  different  tables  was  performed  by  corps  of 
trained  servants.  Those  ordinarily  in  attendance  at  his  Grace's 
board  were  a  Gentleman  Usher,  with  Yeoman  assistant,  Carvers, 
Sewers,  Cup-bearers,  Gentlemen  and  Yeomen  "Waiters,  together 
with  Yeomen  of  the  Pantry,  Buttery,  and  Ewery,  the  Clerk  of 
the  Kitchen,  and  others  not  so  directly  concerned.  In  the  house- 
hold of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  all  hands  in  the  first 
group  of  servants,  i.e.  the  Ushers,  Carvers,  Sewers,  Cup-bearers, 
and  Waiters,  were  chosen  by  the  earl  himself  from  among  the 
men  hired  to  serve  him  in  other  capacities  ordinarily  —  as  Stew- 
ards, Bailiffs,  Park-keepers,  Foresters,  etc.,  and  they  all  filled 
these  honorary  places  of  personal  attendance  on  his  Grace  for  an 
entire  quarter  at  a  time,  serving  in  rotation  shifts,  and  receiving 
no  direct  remuneration  for  the  work.  In  this  same  establish- 
ment when  the  earl  had  his  yearly  accounting,  and  the  ' '  Secret 
House"  was  in  operation,  his  Grace's  second  and  third  sons 
filled  the  positions  of  Carver  and  Sewer  to  their  father  at  his 
table.16  In  other  households  some  of  these  positions  about  the 
lord's  table  were  filled  simply  for  the  day  at  the  order  of  the 
Gentleman  Usher;  this  was  the  case  in  the  Earl  of  "Worcester's 
establishment,  where  "daily  waiters"  are  noted. 

The  Knight's  board  was  attended  by  Footmen;  the  officer's 
table  in  the  Hall  by  the  personal  servants  of  these  dignitaries, 
under  direct  superintendence  of  the  Usher  of  the  Hall,  who 
helped  to  place  the  food  on  the  table.  The  Grooms  of  the  Hall 
and  the  Stables  waited  at  the  Yeomen's  board,  and  after  carrying 
food  to  these,  their  official  betters,  they  took  their  own  places  to 

ie  Northumberland  Household  Book,  53  et  seq.,  304-305,  362.  MSS.  of 
the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  5.  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  89. 


429]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  155 

be  refreshed  with  food  which  they  had  fetched  up  for  themselves. 
Serving  at  this  second  shift  was  done  under  the  direction  still 
of  the  Usher  of  the  Hall,  some  of  the  men  at  least,  like  the  offi- 
cer's servants,  waiting  on  themselves. 

So  much  for  some  of  the  matter-of-fact  details  necessary  to 
understand  the  elaborate  ceremony  of  dining  in  the  16th  century. 
This,  however,  is  but  the  prosaic  side  of  the  picture,  and  life 
enough  there  was  in  the  process,  and  zest,  could  one  but  have 
dropped  in  to  enjoy  it  at  Haddon  House,  Raglan  Castle,  or  any 
one  of  the  many  splendid  old  establishments  which  flourished  so 
proudly  in  that  far  gone  day!  But  what  was  the  ceremony  of 
dining  like  when  it  was  actually  under  way? 

In  the  first  place  Mr.  Gentleman  Usher  of  the  Great  Chamber, 
with  his  assistant,  the  Yeoman  Usher  of  the  Chamber,  was  prob- 
ably the  most  active  man  in  the  entire  household  personnel,  and 
bore  the  heaviest  responsibility  in  connection  with  the  food  ser- 
vice ' '  The  Gentleman  Usher  his  place  and  chardge  is,  to  governe 
all  above  staires,  or  in  the  presence  of  his  lorde,"  and  Richard 
Braithwait  further  enlarges  on  this  officer's  functions  in  this 
wise:  "In  former  times  gentlemen  that  were  of  years  and 
long  trained  and  experienced  in  that  kinde  of  service,  were 
chosen  to  this  place ;  but  of  later  yeares  Earles  and  Ladies  have 
better  liked  yonge  gentlemen  that  were  neate  and  fine  in  their 
apparell,  to  serve  them  in  that  roome;  and  yet,  in  my  simple 
opinion,  none  ought  to  be  chosen  therevnto  that  had  not  for 
some  yeares  served  as  a  gentleman  waiter,  and  that  could  both 
serve  and  carve  in  a  decent  and  comely  manner;  for  he  cannot 
possibly  teach  others  that  is  ignorant  himselfe ;  and  his  place  is 
not  only  to  instructe  the  gentlemen  and  yeomen  waiters,  but  also 
the  Yeoman  of  the  Ewry,  Pantry,  and  Seller,  how  and  in  what 
sorte  they  are  to  bring  into  the  dining  chamber,  and  to  place 
upon  the  cubbard  and  table  all  things  necessary  for  the  service 
of  their  Lord. "  1T 

That  his  rule  in  his  proper  sphere  might  be  the  better  he  was 
".  .  .  to  have  at  commaundemente,  all  the  gentlemen  and 
yeomen  wayters,  and  to  see  into  theire  behaviors  and  fashion, 
that  it  bee  civill,  comelie  and  well,  and  if  any  defecte  bee,  in  any 
of  them,  (he  is)  to  instructe  them  in  curteous  manner,  which  is 

"  Brathwait,  10. 


156  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [430 

both  good  for  them,  and  bettereth  the  lordes  service;  and  if  any 
of  those  saide  wayters  doe  obstinatelie  refuse  to  amende  such 
faultes  and  deformities,  then  the  gentleman  usher  is  to  acquainte 
the  principall  officers  of  the  househoulde  therewith,  whoe  is  to 
reforme  such  defectes  in  them,  or  to  dischardge  them  theire 
lordes  service,  as  men  not  woorthie  to  serve  in  that  place. "  18  A 
check-roll  of  the  Gentlemen  and  Yeomen  Waiters  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Gentleman  Usher,  so  that  all  were  bound  to  come 
to  him  for  their  instructions.19 

The  Gentleman  Usher  on  duty  "above  stairs"  began  opera- 
tions early  — ' '  The  one  of  them  is  every  morning  to  come  into 
the  great  chamber,  .  .  .  and  galleries  at  a  convenient  hower, 
to  see  that  they  be  cleane  swept  and  sweete  kepte,  and  fires,  or 
boughes,  or  rushes  (as  the  time  of  the  yeare  requireth  to  be)  in 
the  chimneys. ' ' 20  The  crafty  Bassiolo,  Gentleman  Usher  in 
Chapman 's  play  of  that  title,  shows,  on  one  occasion,  what  a 
serious  responsibility  deftness  in  that  one  duty  of  clean  sweeping 
and  neat  keeping  entailed  for  him. 

An  entertainment  is  in  preparation,  and  Bassiolo,  hurried  and 
vexed  with  incompetent  help,  is  getting  the  room  ready,  he  and 
his  servants  with  carpet  and  rushes  being  under  way  with  the 
work: 

Bas.     Come  strew  this  roome  afresh;  spread  here  this  carpet; 

Nay,  quickly,  man,  I  pray  thee;  this  way  foole; 

Lay  me  it  smoothe  and  even;  looke  if  he  will! 

This  way  a  little  more;  a  little  there. 

Hast  thou  no  forecast?  slood,  me  thinks  a  man 

Should  not  of  meere  neeessitie  be  an  asse. 

Looke  how  he  strowes  here  too:  come,  Sir  Giles  Goosecap, 

I  must  do  all  myself e;  lay  me  um  thus, 

In  fine  smoothe  threaves,  looke  you,  sir,  thus,  in  threaves. 

Perhaps  some  tender  ladie  will  squat  here, 

And  if  some  standing  rush  should  chance  to  prieke  her, 

Shee'd  squeak  &  spoile  the  songs  that  must  be  sung. 

(Act  2,  Scene  1.) 

The  Great  Chamber  in  order,  the  exacting  work  of  setting  the 
tables  next  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Gentleman  Usher  and 
his  Yeoman  Usher.    Instructions  about  the  character  of  the  din- 
is  Breviate,  322-323. 
is/fcid.,  324. 
aoBrathwait,  11. 


431]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  157 

ner,  whether  it  was  to  be  a  state  fupction  or  not,  together  with  a 
notice  of  the  exact  attendance  at  tables,  were  sent  by  the  Usher 
to  the  Yeomen  of  the  Pantry,  Buttery  and  the  Ewery,  who  forth- 
with made  their  necessary  issues  of  plate  and  linen  —  damaske, 
diaper,  canvas  or  holland  as  the  case  might  be,  and  attended  to 
dressing  the  boards.21 

To  that  end  the  Ewerer  ".  .  .  shall  brynge  forthe  clenly 
dressed  and  fayre  applyed  Tabill-clothis,  and  the  cubbord-clothe, 
cowched  uppon  his  lefte  shulder,  laying  them  uppon  the  tabill 
ende,  close  applied  unto  the  tyme  that  he  have  firste  coverd  the 
cubbord;  and  thenne  cover  the  syde-tabillis,  and  laste  the  prin- 
cipall  tabill  with  dobell  clothe  draun,  cowched,  and  spradde  unto 
the  degre  as  longeth  therto  in  festis. 

"Thenne  here-uppon  the  boteler  or  panter  shall  bring  forthe 
his  pryncipall  salte,  and  iiij  or  v  loves  of  paryd  brede,  havyng  a 
towaile  aboute  his  nekke,  the  tone  half  honge  or  lying  uppon  his 
lefte  arme  unto  his  hande,  and  the  kervyng  knyves  holdyng  in 
the  ryght  hande,  iuste  unto  the  salte-seler  beryng. 

"Thenne  the  boteler  or  panter  shall  sette  the  seler  in  the 
myddys  of  the  tabull  accordyng  to  the  place  where  the  principall 
soverain  shalle  sette,  and  sette  his  brede  iuste  couched  unto  the 
salte-seler;  and  yf  ther  be  trenchours  of  brede,  sette  them  iuste 
before  the  seler,  and  lay  downe  faire  the  kervyng  knyves,  the 
poynts  to  the  seler  benethe  the  trenchours. 

"Thenne  the  seconde  seler  att  the  lower  ende,  with  ij  paryd 
loves  therby,  and  trenchours  of  brede  yf  they  be  ordeyned ;  and 
in  case  be  that  trenchours  of  tree  (ie.  wood)  shalbe  ordeyned, 
the  panter  shall  bryng  them  with  nappekyns  and  sponys  whenne 
the  soverayne  is  sette  att  tabill. 

"Thenne  after  the  high  principall  tabill  sette  with  brede  & 
salte,  thenne  salte-selers  shall  be  sette  uppon  the  syde-tabyls,  but 
no  brede  unto  the  tyme  such  people  be  sette  that  fallith  to  come 
to  mete.  Thenne  the  boteler  shall  bryng  forth  basyns,  ewers,  and 
cuppis,  Pecys  ( ?)  sponys  sette  into  a  pece,  redressing  all  his 
silver  plate,  upon  the  cubbord,  the  largest  firste,  the  richest  in 
the  myddis,  the  lighteste  before." 

Meantime  the  Gentleman  Usher  sought  out  his  Carver,  Sewer 
and  Cup-bearers,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  ewery,  where  they 

ziBreviate,  321. 


158  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [432 

all  had  to  wash  their  hands,  after  which  the  Carver  and  Sewer 
were  "armed"  under  the  Usher's  eyes,  by  the  Yeoman  of  the 
Ewery.  A  contemporary  also  describes  that  process  as  follows: 
"Hee  (that  is,  the  Yeoman  of  the  Ewery)  is  alsoe  to  arme  the 
carver,  fouldinge  his  arminge  towell  full  three  fyngers  broade  or 
more,  and  that  to  putt  about  his  necke,  bringinge  both  sides  of 
the  towell  even  downe  to  his  girdell,  and  puttinge  them  under 
his  girdell  faste,  a  littell  waye,  the  endes  are  to  hannge  from 
thence  right  downe.  His  lordes  and  ladies  napkines  to  bee  laide 
faire,  on  his  lefte  shoulder,  his  owne  napkine  on  his  lefte  arme, 
and  so  the  carver  beeinge  armede  .  .  .  Hee  is  to  arme  the 
sewer  with  a  towell,  of  the  like  foulde,  to  the  carver,  and  is  to 
putt  it  baudericke  wise,  aboute  his  necke,  with  a  knotte  thereof, 
so  lowe  as  his  knee,  and  both  the  endes  of  the  towell  to  hannge 
lower  at  the  leaste  by  a  f oote  than  the  knotte.  .  . "  22 

The  arming  over  the  Gentleman  Usher  escorted  the  Carver  to 
the  Great  Chamber  ".  .  .  where  after  dowtifull  obedience 
made,  the  carver  is  to  take  sayes,  of  the  breade,  and  salte,  of  the 
lord  and  ladies  spoones,  knyves,  trenchers,  and  napkines,  and  to 
give  those  sayes  to  the  pantler,  who  is  to  attend  the  chamber  to 
that  purpose.  .  . " 23  Because  of  this  attendance  by  the  Yeo- 
man of  the  Pantry,  noblemen  liked  to  have  a  man  for  that  office 
".  .  .  of  seemely  stature,  wearing  his  apparell  clenly  and 
handsome.  .  ,"24  Whilst  all  this  was  under  way,  the  Sewer 
repaired  to  the  dresser  to  attend  to  his  Grace 's  meat. 

By  this  time  the  dinner  hour  was  at  hand,  and  his  lordship 
and  all  appointed  to  dine  with  him  in  the  Great  Chamber  had 
gone  thither.  The  seating  at  table  was  arranged  very  carefully ; 
at  the  lord's  table  the  great  salt-cellar,  placed  at  its  center,  be- 
came forthwith  a  conspicuous  marker  of  social  status,  for  all 
were  ranked  at  the  board  with  reference  to  it.  "The  lorde 
.  .  .  is  to  have  his  seate  in  the  midest  of  the  table,  a  littell 
above  the  salte,  his  face  beeinge  to  the  whole  vewe.  of  the  cham- 
ber, and  opposite  to  him,  the  carver  is  to  stande,  and  at  the  upper 
hannde  of  the  carver,  the  countis,  or  ells  to  sitte  above  the  carver 
of  the  same  side  hee  is  of,  opposite  to  her  lorde.  .  . " 25  Be- 

22Breviate,  332. 
23  Ibid.,  323-324. 
24Brathwait,  29. 
25  Breviate,  321. 


433]  GREAT   CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  159 

cause  of  this  important  function  the  salt-cellars  used  in  the  Great 
Chamber  at  least,  were  immense  architectural  structures.  Sir 
John  Fastolfe  owned  no  fewer  than  six  of  those  monumental 
master-pieces,  one  of  which,  in  gilt,  weighed  fully  thirty-four 
ounces ! 28 

All  standing  at  their  places,  the  Chaplain  offered  thanks. 
"Thenne  the  principall  servitours  moste  take  in  ij  handys, 
basyns  and  ewers,  and  towell,  and  therwith  to  awayte  and  at- 
tende  unto  the  tyme  that  the  grace  be  fully  saide;  and  thenne 
incontynent  after  grace  saide,  to  serve  water  with  the  principall 
basyn  and  ewer  unto  the  principall  severayne,  and  ij  principall 
servitours  to  holde  the  towell  under  the  basyn  in  lenght  before 
the  sovrayne;  and  after  that  the  sovrayne  hath  wasshe,  to  yeve 
thenne  water  unto  such  as  ben  ordeyned  to  sytte  at  the  sevrayne- 
is  messe. 

' '  Thenne  after  the  wesshinge  servid,  the  sovrayne  will  take  his 
place  to  sitte,  and  to  hym  such  persons  as  hit  pleaseth  hym  to 
have,  uppon  which  time  of  sittyng,  the  servitorys  moste  dili- 
gently a-wayte  to  serve  them  of  qussyons,  and  after  that  done,  to 
make  such  person ys  to  be  sette  at  the  lower  messe  as  the  princi- 
pall soverayne  aggrees  that  be  convenyent. 

"Be  it  remembrid  that  evermore  at  the  begynnyng  of  grace 
the  covertour  of  brede  shalbe  avoyded  and  take  away,  .  .  ." 

The  first  course  was  at  length  in  order,  but  rightly  to  appreci- 
ate its  ceremonious  advent,  it  is  necessary  again  to  follow  the 
Sewer,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  left  for  the  chief  serving-table,  or 
the  dresser,  after  his  arming  at  the  ewery.  His  walk  to  the 
dresser  took  him  through  the  Hall,  and  the  instant  he  entered  it, 
the  Usher  of  the  Hall,  who  had  to  be  ".  .  .  a  man  of  tall 
stature  and  stronge  voice  .  .  ."cried  out  —  "  Gentlemen  and 
Yeomen,  waite  on  the  Sewer.  .  . " 2T  Arrived  at  the  dresser, 
the  Sewer  met  there  the  Clerk  of  Kitchen,  who  had  to  be  right  at 
hand  to  attend  him ;  the  Sewer  there  called  out  for  his  lordship 's 
first  course,  and  gave  " .  .  .  sayes  to  the  clarke  of  the  kittchine, 
and  the  master  cooke,  of  everie  dishe  that  is  servede  to  the  lordes 
messe  .  .  . " ; 28  the  procession  then  started  with  the  first 

26  Inventory  of  effects,  etc.,  Archaeologia,  XXI,  247  et  seq. 

27  Brathwait,  22. 
zsBreviate,  324. 


160  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [434 

course  for  the  Great  Chamber,  headed  by  the  Yeoman  Usher  of 
the  Hall,  who  again  called  out  as  the  service  passed  through  the 
Hall  "Roome  for  the  Sewer,"  whereupon  all  in  the  Hall  re- 
moved their  hats.  It  was  customary  in  most  households  for  the 
chief  officers  in  the  establishment  to  walk  in  this  procession, 
each  bearing  his  dish  to  the  lord 's  table.29 

The  first  course  thus  "countenanced"  by  the  Sewer  to  his 
Grace's  board,  the  Carver  gave  an  assay  to  the  Sewer  and  to 
each  man  carrying  a  dish,  of  the  food  in  his  dish,  all  standing, 
after  which  the  Carver  took  his  appointed  place  at  table  "there 
to  staye,  all  dynner  tyme,  to  carve  and  serve  in  that  place  at  his 
discretion."30  The  Sewer  was  the  Carver's  assistant,  remain- 
ing right  at  the  former's  side,  except  while  countenancing  the 
second  course  in  its  turn,  all  the  ceremonial  of  which  was  the 
same  as  that  used  for  the  first  course,  except  that  the  assays  were 
received  kneeling.31 

".  .  .  thenne  the  karver,  havyng  his  napkyn  at  all  tymes 
uppon  his  left  hand,  and  the  kervyng  knyfe  in  his  right  hande, 
and  he  shall  take  uppon  the  poynte  of  his  knyf  iiij  trenchours, 
and  so  cowche  them  iustely  before  the  principall,  iij  lying 
iustely  to-geder,  ij  under,  and  one  uppon,  and  the  fowerth  be- 
fore, iustely  for  to  lay  uppon  salte.  (i.e.  to  put  salt  on  —  ed. 
Furnivall.)  and  the  next,  lay  iij  trenchours;  and  soo  iij  or  ij 
after  her  degree,  therto  the  botler  most  be  redy  with  sponys  and 
napkyns,  that  ther  as  the  trenchours  be  cowehed,  lay  the  spone 
and  the  napkyn  therto,  and  soo  thorowe  the  borde. 

"Thenne  the  kerver  shall  take  into  his  hande  on  or  ij  loves, 
and  bere  hem  to  the  syde-tabill  ende,  and  ther  pare  hem  quarter 
on  first,  and  bring  hym  hole  to-geder,  and  cowche  ij  of  the  beste 
before  the  sovrayne,  and  to  others  by  ij  or  on  after  ther  degree. 

"Thenne  the  kerver  or  sewer  most  asserve  every  disshe  in  his 
degre,  after  order  and  course  of  servise  as  f olowith :  first  mus- 
tard and  brawne,  swete  wyne  shewed  therto.  (i.e.  served  with  it.) 

Potage. 

"Befe  and  moton,  swan  or  gese.  grete  pies,  capon  or  fesaunt; 
leche  or  fretours.  Thenne  yef  potage  be  chaungeabill  after 

29  Brathwait,  22.     Breviate,  317.     Northumberland  Household  Book,  420. 
soBrathwait,  22. 
si  Breviate,  324. 


435]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  161 

tyme  and  season  of  the  yere  as  fallith,  as  here  is  rehercid :  by 
example,  ffor  befe  and  moton  ye  shall  take 

Pastelles  or  chynys  of  porke, 
or  els  tonge  of  befe, 
or  tonge  of  the  harte  powderd ; 
Befe  stewed, 

chekyns  boylyd,  and  bacon. 

"Thenne  ayenste  the  secunde  cours,  be  redy,  and  come  in-to 
the  place,  the  kerver  muste  avoyde  and  take  uppe  the  service  of 
the  first  cours,  —  begynnyng  at  the  lowest  mete  first,  —  and  all 
the  broke  cromys,  bonys,  &  trenchours,  before  the  secunde  cours 
and  servise  be  served.  Thenne  the  second  cours  shall  be  served 
in  manner  and  f ourme  as  ensample  therof  hereafter  folowyng : 
Potage.  pigge  lamme  stewed 

Cony  Kidde  rested 

Crane  Veneson  rosted 

heronsewe  heronsewe 

betoure  betoure 

Egrete  pigeons 

Corlewe  Rabbetts 

wodecok  a  bake  mete 

Pert[r]igge 

Plover  Stokke-dovys  stewed 

Snytys  cony  malard 

quayles  telys  wodecok 

ffretours  grete  byrdys 

leche 

"After  the  seconde  cours  served,  kerved,  and  spente,  hit  must 
be  sene,  cuppys  to  be  fillid,  trenchours  to  be  voyded.  thenne  by 
goode  avysment  the  tabill  muste  be  take  uppe  in  the  maner  as 
folowith:  —  first,  when  tyme  foloweth  (alloweth?),  the  panter 
or  boteler  must  gader  uppe  the  sponys;  after  that  done  by 
leyser,  the  sewer  or  carver  shall  be-gynne  at  the  loweste  ende, 
and  in  order  take  uppe  the  lowest  messe;  after  the  syde-tabill 
be  avoyded  and  take  uppe,  and  thenne-  to  precede  to  the  Prin- 
cipall  tabill,  and  ther  honestly  and  clenly  avoyde  and  with- 
drawe  all  the  servise  of  the  high  table,  ther-to  the  kerver  muste 
be  redy,  and  redely  have  a  voyder  to  gader  in  all  the  broke 
brede,  trenchours,  cromys  lying  upon  the  tabill ;  levyng  none 


162  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [436 

other  thyng  save  the  salte-seler,  hole  brede  (yf  any  be  lefte), 
and  cuppys. 

"After  this  done  by  goode  delyberacion  and  avysement,  the 
kerver  shall  take  the  servise  of  the  principall  messe  in  order  and 
rule,  begynnynge  at  the  lowest,  and  so  precede  in  rule  unto  the 
laste,  and  theruppon  the  kerver  to  have  redy  a  voyder,  and  to 
avoyde  all  maner  trenchours  [&]  broke  brede  in  a-nother  clene 
disshe  voyder,  and  cromys,  which  with  the  kervyng-knyf  shall 
be  avoyded  from  the  tabill,  and  thus  to  procede  unto  the  tabill 
be  voyded.  Thenne  the  kerver  shall  goo  unto  the  cuppebord, 
and  redresse  and  ordeyne  wafers  in  to  towayles  of  raynes  or  fyne 
napkyns  which  moste  be  cowched  fayre  and  honestly  uppon  the 
tabill,  and  thenne  serve  the  principall  messe  first,  and  so  thorowe 
the  tabill.  j  or  ij  yf  hit  so  requere :  therto  moste  be  servid  swete 
wyne  and  in  feriall  (holiday)  tyme  serve  chese  shraped  with 
sugur  and  sauge-levis  (sage-leaves)  or  ellis  that  hit  be  faire 
kervid  hole,  or  frute  as  the  yere  yeveth,  strawberys,  cherys, 
perys,  appulis;  and  in  winters,  wardens,  costardys  roste,  rosted 
on  fisshe-dayes  with  blanche  pouder,  and  so  serve  hit  forth 
Thenne  aftur  wafers  and  frute  spended,  all  maner  thinge  shalbe 
take  uppe  and  avoyded,  except  the  principall  sal1>seler,  hole 
brede,  and  kervynge-knyves,  the  which  shalbe  redressed  in  maner 
and  f  ourme  as  they  were  first  sette  on  the  table ;  the  which,  prin- 
cipall servitours  of  the  pantre  or  botery,  havyng  his  towaile, 
shall  take  uppe,  and  here  hit  into  his  office  in  like  wyse  as  he 
first  brought  hit  unto  the  Tabill. 

"Thenne  the  principall  servitours,  as  kerver  and  sewer,  moste 
have  redy  a  longe  towaile  applyed  dowble,  to  be  cowched  uppon 
the  principall  ende  of  the  table ;  and  that  towell  must  be  iustely 
drawen  thorowe  the  tabill  unto  the  lower  ende,  and  ij  servitours 
to  awayte  theruppon  that  hit  be  iustely  cowched  and  sprad. 
after  that  done,  ther  muste  be  ordeyned  basyns,  and  ewers  with 
water  hote  or  colde  as  tyme  of  the  yere  requerith,  and  to  be 
sette  uppon  the  tabill,  and  to  stonde  unto  the  grace  be  saide; 
and  incontynent  after  grace  seide,  the  servitours  to  be  redy  to 
awayte  and  attende  to  yeve  water,  first  to  the  principall  messe, 
and  after  that  to  the  seconde,  incontynent  after  this  done,  the 
towayle  and  tabill-clothis  most  be  drawen,  cowched,  and  sprad, 
and  so  by  litill  space  taken  uppe  in  the  myddis  of  the  tabill,  and 
so  to  be  delyvered  to  the  officer  of  pantery  or  botery. 


437]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  163 

"Thenne  uprysyng,  servitours  muste  attende  to  avoyde  ta- 
bills,  trestellis,  fonnys  and  stoyls,  and  to  redresse  bankers  and 
quyssyons.  then  the  boteler  shall  avoyde  the  cupborde,  begyn- 
nyng  at  the  lowest,  procede  in  rule  to  the  hieste,  and  bere  hit 
in-to  his  office.  Thenne  after  mete,  hit  most  be  awayted  and  well 
entended  by  servitours  yf  drinke  be  asked,  and  yf  ther  be  knyght 
or  lady  or  grete  gentil-woman,  they  shall  be  servid  uppon  kne 
with  brede  and  wyne. ' ' 32 

The  Gentleman  Usher,  throughout  the  repast  was  alert  to  its 
correct  progress;  "Hee  is  to  take  his  place  for  dinner  and  sup- 
per at  the  bordes  ende,  the  better  to  see  through  the  whole  table, 
the  behaviour  of  all  the  servanntes,  and  where  any  wants  bee,  to 
have  them  supplied,  and  that  there  bee  not  talkinge,  neather  any 
discourse  amongst  them,  but  to  bee  quiette  while  meales  bee 
donne,  for  loud  talke  at  that  tyme,  and  in  that  place,  in  all 
houses  of  order,  is  accompted  barbarus  and  rusticall,  and  there- 
fore by  them  to  bee  especiallie  avoided  and  looked  into/' 33 

Some  of  the  things  which  engaged  the  attention  of  a  watchful 
Usher  during  dinner,  are  described  in  the  directions  for  service 
which  were  observed  in  the  household  of  Lord  Fairfax,  and 
probably  in  scores  of  other  noble  houses,  a  part  of  which  direc- 
tions, in  the  words  of  an  old  servant  of  that  house  are  as  follows : 

"If  one  Servant  have  occasion  to  speak  to  another  about  Ser- 
vice att  the  Table,  let  him  whisper,  for  noyse  is  uncivil. 

'  '  If  any  Servant  have  occasion  to  go  f orthe  of  the  Chamber  for 
any  thing,  let  him  make  haste,  and  see  that  no  more  than  towe  be 
absent.  And  for  prevention  of  Errands,  let  all  Sawces  be  ready 
at  the  Door,  for  even  one  messe  of  Mustard  will  take  a  Man's  at- 
tendance from  the  Table;  but  least  any  thing  happen  unexpected, 
let  the  Boy  stand  within  the  Chamber  Door  for  Errands. 

"And  see  that  your  Water  and  Voyder  be  redy  soe  soon  as 
Meate  is  served  and  sett  on  the  Table  without.  Have  a  good  eye 
to  the  Board  for  empty  Dishes  and  the  placing  of  others,  and  let 
not  the  Board  be  unfurnished. 

"Let  no  man  fill  Beere  or  Wine  but  the  Cup-board  Keeper, 
who  must  make  choice  of  his  Glasses  or  Cups  for  the  Company, 
and  not  to  serve  them  hand  over  heade.  He  must  also  know 

32  "FFor  to  serve  a  lord,"  in  Manners  and  Meals  in  Olden  Time,  Part  3, 
366  et  seq.    Early  English  Text  Society,  J.  Furnivall,  ed. 
ssBreviate.  325. 


164  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TTJDOR   NOBLEMAN  [438 

which  be  for  Beere  and  which  for  Wine;  for  it  were  a  foul 
thing  to  mix  them  together."  And  finally  the  oft  repeated  in- 
junction admonishing  silence  —  "for  it  is  the  greatest  part  of 
Civility. ' ' 34  With  this  last  precept  should  be  set  down  in  con- 
clusion a  note  of  the  Usher's  orders  to  the  servants  not  to  harken 
to  any  table-talk,  a  delinquency  on  their  part  which  often 
enough,  probably  called  for  his  correction.  Every  Gentleman 
Usher  was  supposed  ".  .  .  to  give  notice  to  all  wayters,  that 
they  give  noe  eare  to  table  taulke,  for  that  withdraweth  the  eie 
and  minde  from  respecte  of  theire  service,  for  the  eye  muste 
bee  still  movinge  about  the  sercuite  of  the  table,  that  if  any 
wanntes  bee,  thay  maye  with  speede  bee  suppliede. " 35 

Probably  most  households,  as  did  the  establishment  of  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Derby,  helped  the  Gentleman  Usher  to  get  effec- 
tive waiter  service,  by  demanding  a  preliminary  training.  His 
Grace  ordered  ".  .  .  that  no  gent,  comyng  to  my  L.  service 
shall  wayte  at  the  table  before  my  L.  gyve  cone,  and  no  yoman 
shall  wayte  till  he  have  bene  in  the  house  one  yeare  and  moore 
at  my  L.  his  pleasure. ' ' 36 

It  remains  to  be  said  concerning  the  dinner  service  on  ordi- 
nary occasions  in  the  Great  Chamber,  that  while  it  was  in  prog- 
ress, the  Yeoman  Usher  took  his  stand  at  the  door  of  the  Cham- 
ber, to  see  to  it  that  none  gained  admittance  to  the  room  but 
those  who  had  the  right  to  enter.37 

Dinner  in  the  Hall  was  ordinarily  as  pompously  conducted,  in 
proportion,  as  it  was  in  the  Great  Chamber.  Here,  however,  all 
the  deference  was  paid  to  the  Officers  of  the  Household,  at  the 
first  table,  the  entire  service  being  under  command  of  the  Yeo- 
man Usher  of  the  Hall.  As  has  been  observed  the  Yeoman  at- 
tended personally  to  dressing  the  Officer's  board  and  "When 
the  Earles  table  and  gentlewomen  are  served,  the  Vsher  with  a 
lowde  voice  is  to  saye:  To  the  dresser  genUemens  men,  for  my 
Lords  cheefe  Officers."38  His  further  functions  are  best  set 
forth  by  the  contemporary,  Brathwait :  ' '  Meate  being  placed  on 
the  tables,  the  Vsher  with  a  lowde  voyce  is  to  call,  Pantler,  who 

s*  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  423-424. 

ssBreviate,  323. 

se  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  8. 

37  Breviate,  332-333. 

38  Brathwait,  23-24. 


439]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  165 

therat  is  to  come  and  furnish  the  hordes  with  breade.  After- 
wards he  is  to  call,  Butler,  and  then  he  is  to  set  beere  on  the 
tables,  and  so  often  as  he  shall  call  either  of  them  in  meale  times, 
they  must  come  to  bring  bread  or  beere  that  wanteth.  When 
the  second  course  is  served  to  the  Earles  table  and  to  the  gentle- 
women, then  is  the  Vsher  to  bring  the  Officers  second  course  and 
to  send  for  such  reward  as  is  allowed  to  them  that  sitt  at  their 
table,  or  to  strangers,  or  other  hordes. ' ' 39 

"The  Yeomen  and  Groomes  having  dined  or  supped,  the 
Vsher  is  to  call,  Amner  (Almoner)  take  away,  which  being  done 
the  Yeomen  and  Groomes  are  to  rise  and  come  and  doe  rever- 
ence to  the  cheefe  Officers.  When  they  have  dined  and  thancks 
given  to  God,  their  meate  taken  of  the  table  by  their  owne  men, 
the  Vsher  is  to  call  Ewer,  who  is  to  come  and  serve  the  Officers 
with  water,  the  Vsher  holding  the  Towel. ' ' 40  Hereupon  the  rest 
of  the  dinners  followed  in  their  proper  order,  as  described  above. 

Intricate  as  were  all  the  arrangements  for  service  in  the  Great 
Chamber  and  the  Hall  as  just  described,  added  details  always 
augmented  their  solemn  pompousness  when  guests,  friends  or 
strangers  came  to  sojourn  at  a  nobleman's  castle.  This  was  ex- 
ceedingly frequent,  so  common,  in  fact  that  it  might  have  been 
truer  to  the  ancient  mode  of  life  whose  description  is  in  order 
here,  had  the  customs  observed  for  entertainment  been  explained 
as  the  ordinary  day's  order  of  events. 

Hospitality  was  constantly  and  generously  practiced,  as  just 

»» In  most  household  accounts  there  was  ordinarily  one  group  of  accounts 
under  the  caption  "Gifts  and  Rewards"  which  were  varying  sums  of 
money,  generally  small,  and  which  might  include  payments  to  some  of  the 
household  servants  by  guests  in  the  house.  Thus  in  the  household  accounts 
of  Richard  Bertie,  March  of  1850  —  "In  rewarde  to  the  servants  in  Mes- 
tress  Sissells  house,"  6s:8d.  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  463.  This  might 
have  been  the  meaning  of  "reward"  as  used  by  Brathwait.  Another 
meaning,  however,  seems  more  probable.  The  "Boke  of  Curtasye"  dated 
by  Mr.  Furnivall  c.  1430-1440,  portraying  the  duties  of  the  Marshal  of 
the  Hall,  says  — 

"When  brede  fayles  at  borde  aboute, 
The  marshalle  gares  sett  with-outen  doute 
More  brede,  that  calde  is  a  rewarde, 
Se  shalle  hit  be  preuet  be-fore  stuadre. "  —  p.  312. 

The  Boke  of  Curtasye,  in  Manners  and  Meals  in  Olden  Time,  Ed.  by  Furni- 
vall for  the  Early  English  Text  Society. 
40  Brathwait,  p.  24. 


166  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [440 

observed,  and  usually  on  a  scale,  furthermore,  whose  generous 
proportions  make  a  modern  wonder.  The  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland made  yearly  allowances  for  guests,  and  the  costs 
were  regarded  as  an  integral  part  of  his  household  expense 
budget;  in  1512,  computing  his  probable  accounts  for  1512-1513, 
he  calculated  on  entertaining  fifty-seven  strangers,  on  the  av- 
erage, daily  throughout  the  year,  and  he  rated  the  cost  at  two 
and  one-half  pence  per  man  each  day. 

Almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  folks  went  in  and  out  of  these 
great  houses,  tarrying,  perhaps,  for  a  single  meal,  or  even  lighter 
refreshment,  or  stopping  for  a  protracted  sojourn.  The  country 
establishments  of  the  Earls  of  Derby  were  constantly  the  resort 
of  guests  of  all  degrees,  the  Steward's  weekly  journal  being 
largely  given  over  to  an  enumeration  of  visitors,  with  note  of 
their  advent  and  departure;  the  following,  selected  at  random, 
are  all  characteristic  entries :  June  10th-16th,  1586.  • — ' '  On 
Sondaye  Mr.  Bradshaw  came  to  dyner,  Mr.  Rec.  (i.e.  Receiver) 
Mr.  Carter,  Mr.  Caldewell,  came,  and  Mr.  Leigh  pretched;  on 
Monday,  all  my  L.  Cownsell  came,  and  Mr.  Caldewell  pretched, 
Mr.  Cutebert  Halsoll  and  his  wiffe,  Mr.  Skillycorne  came,  Mr 
Henry  Stanley  senio.  &  Mr.  Henry  Stanley  Jvnio.  Mr  To.  Pres- 
ton, &  Mr.  Christofer  Preston  came;  on  Tvesday  my  L.  Bush- 
oppe  of  Chester  &  Mr.  Salesbury  came;  on  Wednesday  more 
strandgers  there  all  daye;  on  Thursdaye  they  went  all  awayes 
save  my  L.  busshoppe  who  dep'ted  vpon  fryday:  and  this  weke 
was  Whitson  "Weke." 

Again  August  12th-19th,  1587,  —  "On  Sonday  Mr  Rec.  came, 
Sr.  Rye.  Mollynex,  Mr  Petter  Leigh,  Mr  Tildesley,  &  many  more 
at  dyner,  yong  Mr  Halsall  and  Mrs  Dorothy  Stanley  came;  on 
Monday  ij  unkles  of  Mr  Salusburyes  came,  &  alsoe  yong  Mr 
Trayfforth  &  Mr  "Worseley;  on  Tvesday  my  L.  rode  into  Wir* 
rail,  Mr  Salusbury  &  his  wiffe  to  Sefton,  on  w*ch.  daye  all 
strandgers  went  away;  my  L.  Strange 's  little  dough ter  stayed, 
on  Thursday  Mr  Salesbury  came  again;  on  Friday  Mr  Halsall 
and  Mrs.  Dorothie  came  againe ;  &  on  Saturday  my  L.  retorned 
home."41  Some  of  these  people  were  relatives  of  the  Stanley 
family,  but  the  majority  were  "strangers." 

Similar  notes  from  like  accounts  kept  for  the  Willoughbys  at 

«  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  30-31,  35-36. 


441]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  167 

Wallaton  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  their  generous  entertain- 
ment of  guests.  During  the  year  15*87-1588,  the  clerk  frequent- 
ly notes  —  "This  weke  howshold  only,  with  comers  and  goers." 
But  notable  folk  dropped  in  upon  them  from  time  to  time,  and 
such  were  always  recorded  with  more  flourish  — ' '  July  1  — 
This  weeke  Mr.  Percyvall  Wyllughby  and  Mr  George  Pudsie 
and  his  sonne  came  on  Monday  at  nighte ;  Mr  George  Pudsie  and 
his  sonne  went  awaye  on  Thursday  morning,  and  Mr.  Percy 
stayed  all  the  week.  And  this  weeke  on  Wednesday  Sir  Thomas 
Mannours  dyned  at  the  Chauntrey  with  other  comers  and 
goers. ' ' 

Often  the  Earl  of  Rutland  with  his  Countess  and,  perchance, 
a  goodly  retinue  visited  at  Wallaton  — ' '  The  xj  day  of  Novem- 
ber, being  Saterday  in  Lenton  Fayre  tyme,  the  Earle  of  Rutland 
and  the  Cowntysse,  Sir  Thomas  Manners  and  his  Lady,  Sir 
Gervas  Clyfton  and  his  Ladie,  Sir  Anthony  Strellery  and  his 
Ladie  with  dyvers  other  gentlemen  of  six  score  persons  dyned. ' ' 
In  August  of  1599  again,  the  earl  with  many  other  gentlemen 
"came  to  denner  with  LXX  persones  attendinge."  Or  perhaps 
it  was  just  a  friendly  neighborhood  call  —  August  12th,  1599  — 
"Many  nigbores  that  came  to  see  my  mistress  dyned  here  teis 
daye."  or  August  13th  —  "XXX  wyves  of  Wallaton  that  came 
to  see  my  mistress  dyned  hear  this  day. ' ' 42 

At  festival  times,  entertainment  frequently  assumed  tremen- 
dous proportions.  For  Christmas  in  1508,  Edward,  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  at  his  residence  of  Thornburg,  feasted  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  people  at  dinner  and  supper,  of  whom  one 
hundred  and  eighty-two  at  dinner,  and  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-six at  supper  were  "strangers."  On  January  6th,  at  the 
Feast  of  the  Epiphany  of  the  following  year,  this  same  noble- 
man entertained  five  hundred  and  nineteen  people  at  dinner  and 
four  hundred  at  supper,  the  total  number  of  strangers  at  the 
first  repast  being  three  hundred  and  nineteen,  and  at  supper 
two  hundred  and  seventy-nine.43 

On  both  of  these  occasions  the  feasters  made  up  a  cosmopol- 
itan assemblage,  including  members  of  the  ducal  household, 
lords  and  knights,  bailiffs,  tenants,  both  of  the  duke  and  of 

42  MSS.  of  Lord  Middleton,  454,  461,  462,  etc. 

«  Household  Accounts,  Archaeologia,  XXV,  319  et  seq. 


168  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [442 

his  retainers,  religious  men  —  chaplains  and  abbots,  musicians 
and  waits,  who  probably  amused  the  throng,  together  with  a 
great  number  unnamed,  so  many  ' '  from  the  town ' '  and  so  many 
''from  the  country." 

The  truly  delightful  and  spontaneous  manner  in  which  en- 
tertainment might  be  offered,  is  displayed  in  a  contemporary 
narrative  by  one  of  three  men,  who,  in  August  of  1634,  made  a 
survey  of  twenty-six  counties,  in  a  seven  weeks'  journey  begun 
at  Norwich.  They  were  a  "Captaine,  a  Lieutennant,  and  an 
Ancient"  of  the  military  company  of  Norwich,  and  in  the 
course  of  their  peregrinations  they  fetched  up  at  Naworth 
Castle,  one  of  the  great  residences  of  Lord  William  Howard,  of 
border  fame. 

Unfortunately,  at  their  arrival,  Lord  William  was  not  at 
home,  so  after  tarrying  a  brief  while,  the  three  repaired  to  the 
ancient  city  of  Carlisle;  thither  a  servant  of  his  Grace's  was 
later  dispatched,  to  invite  them  to  dinner  at  Corby  Castle,  where 
Lord  Howard  was  then  sojourning;  highly  honoured,  the  flatter- 
ing offer  was  at  once  accepted,  and  the  story  of  their  visit  fol- 
lows, as  it  was  afterward  set  down  by  one  of  them :  " .  .  .  The 
next  day  wee  went  thither,  and  were  by  that  generous  brave 
Lord  curteously  and  nobly  entertayn'd,  and  sorry,  he  sayd,  he 
was,  that  hee  was  not  at  Naworth  to  give  us  then  the  like.  His 
Lordship's  commaunds  made  us  to  transgresse  good  manners, 
for  neither  would  he  suffer  us  to  speak  uncover 'd,  nor  to  stand 
up  (although  our  duty  requir'd  another  posture)  but  plac'd  us 
by  his  Lordship  himselfe  to  discourse  with  him  untill  dinner 
time. 

"Anon  appear 'd  a  grave  and  vertuous  matron,  his  Honorable 
Lady,  who  told  us,  indeed  we  were  heartily  welcome,  and  whilst 
our  Ancient  and  my  selfe  address 'd  our  selves  to  satisfy  his 
Lordship  in  such  occurrences  of  Norfolke  as  he  pleas 't  to  aske, 
and  desir'd  to  know,  wee  left  our  modest  Captaine  to  relate  to 
his  noble  Lady  what  she  desir'd.  These  noble  twaine  (as  it 
pleas 'd  themselves  to  tell  us  themselves)  could  nott  make  above 
25  yeares  both  togeather,  when  first  they  were  marry 'd,  that  now 
can  make  above  140  yeares,  and  are  very  hearty,  well,  and  merry, 
and  long  may  they  continue  soe,  for  soe  have  they  all  iust  cause 
to  pray,  that  live  neere  them,  for  their  hospitality  and  fre  enter- 


443]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  169 

tainment,  agrees  with  their  generous  and  noble  extraction,  and 
their  yeeres  retaines  the  memory  of  their  honorable  predecessors' 
bountifull  house  keeping. 

' '  Amongst  other  dishes  that  came  then  to  his  Lordship 's  table, 
one  there  was  serv'd  in  at  the  second  course,  which  was  not 
usuall,  a  live  roe;  and  as  there  was  great  store  of  venison,  soe 
was  there  plenty  of  wine,  and  as  freely  these  two  noble  persons 
commaunded  it  to  be  filled.  I  verily  thinke  his  Honor  may 
commaund  venison  there  as  our  southerne  gentlemen  doe  sheep 
heere,  for  I  heard  his  Lordship  say  that  his  sonnes  had  then 
kill'd  out  of  his  owne  parkes  120  buckes  of  this  season.  Soone 
after  dinner  we  desir'd  to  take  our  leaves,  and  to  that  end  wee 
presented  our  selves,  which  his  Lordship  courteously  graunted, 
after  wee  had  told  him  our  designes,  and  commaunded  one  of 
his  gentlemen  to  accompany  us  over  those  dangerous  fells,  and 
to  be  our  guide  to  Graystoke  Castle,  his  noble  nephew's,  and 
himself e  vouchsaf 'd  to  bring  us  through  his  gardens  and  walkes 
to  the  river  side,  and  there  committed  us  to  a  noble  gentleman 
his  sonne  to  passe  in  a  boat  with  us  over  the  said  river.  .  . "  4* 

The  gossipy  interlude  played  by  hosts  and  guests,  offers  one 
explanation  for  the  universal  custom  of  lavish  hospitality  ob- 
served by  all  noblemen  in  those  days.  For  most  people,  life  was 
very  isolated,  travelling  precarious  and  costly  —  naturally  then, 
how  welcome  were  those  who  brought  in  news  of  the  outside 
world  —  "occurrences  at  Norfolke"!  Furthermore,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  entertainment  offered  an  opportunity  for  dis- 
play; it  exalted  the  prestige  of  a  house;  both  were  desiderata 
highly  worth  while ;  and  finally,  a  weighty  consideration,  all  the 
noblemen  still  had  numerous  important  relations  with  many 
people  in  the  adjacent  country-side,  due  to  their  old  feudal 
status ;  they  were  constantly  besought  on  business  by  this  one  or 
that,  and  common  respectability,  no  doubt,  frequently  urged 
hospitality  upon  them.  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  was 
compelled  to  retain  always  the  services  of  one  of  his  household 
council,  even  when  he  kept  his  so-called  "secret-house"  during 
accounting  times,  ".  .  .  for  Aunswering  ande  Riddyng  of 
Causis  whenne  Suters  cumeth  to  my  Lorde. ' ' 45  Probably  these 

**  The  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle, 
480-490. 

45  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  304. 


170  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [444 

"suters"  frequently  came  from  a  distance,  or  were  good  ten- 
ants —  in  any  case  deserving  of  some  entertainment. 

Before  turning  next  to  a  description  of  what  might  be  called 
the  mechanics  of  hospitality,  one  other  consideration  is  in  order 
concerning  it.  Whatever  its  character,  plain  or  sumptuims, 
crowded  or  otherwise,  there  was  nothing  slip-shod  about  the  con- 
duct of  entertainment  anywhere;  in  fact,  from  the  accountant's 
side  of  the  picture,  it  was  strictly  a  business  proposition,  the 
amusement  or  satisfaction  to  a  host  growing  actually  insignifi- 
cant compared  with  the  looming  magnitude  of  the  expense  in- 
volved. It  was  a  very  costly  luxury,  and  strictness  regarding 
accounts  was  but  a  necessary  precaution  to  control  it. 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  commanded  his  brevement 
clerks  to  record  by  name  every  stranger  who  came  to  the  house.46 
Every  day  his  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen  had  to  ' ' .  .  .  cast  up  ... 
the  Chequyrroll  ande  the  Straungeours  ande  deduct  the  "Va- 
cauntes  to  see  how  th'  Expenses  of  the  Brevements  woll  wey 
togeder  ande  whanne  they  finde  a  Deffawt  too  refforme  it  furth- 
with  ande  shew  the  said  Officers  there  Deffawtts  in  there  mys- 
brevynge  if  they  be  soo  f ounde. ' ' 47  The  earl 's  regulation  for 
obtaining  this  accounting  is  too  spectacular  to  omit;  it  follows 
verbatim  —  a  leisurely,  windy  globe-circuit  to  achieve  a  simple 
problem  in  arithmetic : 

"THE  FOURM  OF  A  DRAUGHT  How  it  schal  be  for 
TOTALLING  of  the  NOUMBRE  of  the  Chequirroil 
with  the  Noumbre  of  the  Straungers  the  Vacants  De- 
ducted For  a  Mouneth  When  they  caste  up  the  Par- 
sonnes  at  the  Mounthes  end. 

"FIRSTE  To  caste  ovir  the  Parsonnes  of  the  Chequirroill 
Double  every  Etting  Daie  Ande  upon  the  Fasting  Daies  but 
Single  the  Parsons  Ande  than  to  Deducte  all  the  Parsons  that 
be  Vacante  of  the  Chequirroill  in  the  saide  Mouneth  Ande  make 
that  the  Nombre  of  the  Chequirroill  The  Parsons  that  ar  Vacant 
Deducted. 

"ITEM  Than  to  caste  ovir  all  your  Straungers  in  the  saide 
Mouneth. 

46  Northumberland  Household  Book,  115. 

47  Ibid.,  117. 


445]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  171 

"ITEM  Than  to  caste  ovir  all  -your  Vacantes  of  the  Par- 
sonnes  of  the  Chequirroill  wanting  in  the  saide  Mouneth. 

"ANDE  than  to  caste  the  Fyrste  Noumbre  in  the  whiche  the 
Vacants  of  the  Personnes  of  your  Chequirroil  are  deducted  and 
laye  to  theim  your  Straungers  daily  in  the  saide  Mouneth  to  the 
said  Noumber  Ande  than  to  take  half  of  it  uppon  the  Fasting 
Daie  and  Double  the  Etting  Daye  And  than  to  make  the  Nombre 
of  the  same. ' ' 48 

Finally  to  guarantee  against  any  negligent  accounting,  his 
Grace  ruled  that  breving  be  done  twice  a  day  ".  .  .  Furst 
Tyme  incontinent  aftir  the  Dynner  Ande  the  Second  Tyme  at 
Aftur  Supper  when  Lyverys  is  servid  at  highe  Tymes  as  Prin- 
cipal Feests.  .  .  And  at  any  outher  tymes  when  ther  is  any 
great  Repaire  of  Straungers  in  the  Hous  Bicause  the  Officers 
shalle  not  forget  for  longe  beering  of  it  in  their  mynds."  49 

While  not  affecting  guests  exactly,  ordinances  established  both 
by  the  Duke  of  Clarence  and  the  Earls  of  Derby,  reflect  the  de- 
sire of  those  noblemen  to  keep  their  establishments  free  from 
useless  hangers-on.  In  1469  Clarence  ruled  —  "ITEM,  That 
noe  person  of  the  courte,  of  what  degree  or  condition  he  be,  leve 
behynd  hym,  when  he  departeth  oute  of  the  courte,  neither  man, 
childe,  horse,  grayhoundes,  ne  other  houndes  to  the  seid  Dukes 
charge,  uppon  peyne  of  losinge  a  weeke's  wages."  50 

Similarly,  in  1568,  Edward,  3rd  Earl  of  Derby  instituted  — 
"It'm  that  there  shall  not  be  anie  yoman  or  other  not  in  the 
Chekerolle  that  shall  tarie  to  burthen  my  L.  his  house,  but  one 
daye  or  meale  at  one  tyme."  51 

Astute  old  Burghley  expressed  himself  most  clearly  to  his  son 
on  this  important  side  of  domestic  life  —  "And  touching  the 
^guiding  of  thy  house  let  thy  hospitality  be  moderate  &  according 
to  the  means  of  thy  estate,  rather  plentifull  than  sparing,  but 
not  costly.  For  I  never  knew  any  man  grow  poor  by  keeping 
an  orderly  table.  But  some  consume  themselves  through  their 
secret  vices,  and  their  hospitality  bears  the  blame.  But  banish 
swinish  drunkards  out  of  thine  house,  which  is  a  vice  imparing 

<8  Northumberland  Household  Book,  290-291. 

« Ibid.,  164. 

so  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  93. 

si  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  9. 


172  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP    A    TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [446 

health,  consuming  much  &  makes  no  shew.  I  never  heard  praise 
ascribed  to  the  drunkard,  but  [for]  well-bearing  [of]  his  drink ; 
which  is  a  better  commendation  for  a  brewers  horse  or  a  dray- 
man, than  for  either  a  gentleman,  or  [a]  serving  man. ' ' 52 

That  wise  old  nobleman  lived  up  to  his  advices  too.  A  con- 
temporary says  of  his  hospitality  —  "When  his  Lordship  was 
able  to  sit  abroad  he  kept  an  honourable  table,  for  noblemen  and 
others  to  resort  [to].  But  when  age  and  infirmity  grew  upon 
him  he  was  forced  to  keep  his  chamber:  where  he  was  void 
neither  of  company  nor  meat.  Having  as  many  of  his  friends 
and  children  [to  dine  with,  and  keep  him'  company  there]  as 
before,  he  had  strangers  in  his  parlor.  His  diet  being  then  as 
chargable  weekly,  as  when  he  came  abroad.  His  Lordships  hall 
was  ever  well  furnished  with  men,  [and  as  well]  served  with 
meat,  and  kept  in  good  order.  For  his  steward  kept  a  standing 
table  for  gentlemen,  besides  two  other  long  tables  [many  times 
twice  set]  One  for  the  clerk  of  the  kitchen  and  the  other  Yeo- 
men."53 

In  conclusion  now,  some  of  the  management  details  connected 
with  the  entertainment  of  guests  in  the  household.  In  a  w;ell- 
ordered  establishment,  if  it  were  known  that  guests  were  ex- 
pected, entertainment  for  them  began  really  with  the  cordial 
reception  designed  to  put  them  at  their  ease  at  their  very  ad- 
vent. Lord  Fairfax,  for  example,  commanded  "That  all  the 
Servants  be  redy  upon  the  Terras  at  such  tymes  as  the  Strangers 
do  come,  to  attend  their  alightinge. ' r  5*  This  nobleman  was  but 
one  of  the  scores  probably  whose  politeness  to  strangers  began 
at  the  castle  gates. 

At  meal  times  strangers  were  carefully  sorted  and  ushered  to 
table,  where,  as  with  all  in  the  household,  their  places  were  de- 
termined by  their  social  status.  If  guests  chanced  to  be  of  the 
nobility,  they  dined  with  the  lord  of  the  household,  at  his 
board,  while  those  of  inferior  degree  were  placed  at  the  Knight's 
table  in  the  Great  Chamber,  or  with  the  officers  in  the  Hall,  and 
so  on,  as  might  be.  If  there  were  a  great  press  of  guests,  as,  for 
example,  during  holiday  season,  numerous  tables  would  be  set 

52  Advice  to  his  son.     Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  47-48. 

53  Anon.  Biography  in  Peck,  op.  tit.,  22  et  seq. 

54  Northumberland  HouseJwld  Book,  p.  421. 


447]  GREAT    CHAMBER    AND    HALL   SERVICE  173 

up  in  the  Great  Chamber  and  the  Hall,  each  presided  over  by 
some  officer  of  the  household,  who  properly  represented  the 
establishment  at  his  board.  There  were  occasions  when  each  of 
the  officers  had  his  table  in  the  Hall.55 

In  the  Great  Chamber,  the  Gentleman  Usher  had  the  delicate 
and  conceivably  awkward  and  troublesome  task  of  arranging  the 
seating  at  table.  He  ".  .  .  is  to  have  speciall  respecte  howe 
to  place  all  such  the  beste  sorte  of  stranngers,  at  the  lordes  table, 
least  by  wronnging  any  in  such  sorte,  discontentment  maye 
growe,  and  if  hee  doubt  in  his  owne  knowledge,  hee  is  to  take  the 
opinion  of  the  lorde,  for  the  better  avoidinge  any  such 
wronng.  .  . " 56 

All  "above  salt"  at  the  lord's  board  end,  had  the  special 
consideration  of  the  Carver  and  Sewer,  who,  unless  directly  or- 
dered by  his  Grace  or  her  ladyship,  were  to  pay  no  attention  to 
any  of  the  benighted  crew  below  the  condimental  line  of  de- 
markation  ! 57  Above  or  below  the  salt !  An  expression  replete 
with  significance,  especially  for  the  Gentleman  Usher.  Every 
phase  of  that  functionary's  activities  "above  stairs"  were  im- 
portant, however,  and  especially  so,  his  duties  in  the  Great 
Chamber,  where  the  pressure  upon  him  may  be  sensed  as  well 
from  what  has  been  noted  already,  as  from  the  following  addi- 
tional contemporary  observations  concerning  the  urgent  need 
for  a  well-conducted  service  in  that  place  —  "Hee  (the  Gentle- 
man Usher)  is  to  see  the  greate  chamber  bee  fynne  and  neatlie 
kepte,  and  that  there  wannte  noe  necessarie  utencies  therein,  and 
to  commannde  the  yeomen  ushers  of  the  greate  chamber,  to  exe- 
cute theire  derections  whatsoever,  for  theire  lordes  service,  to  bee 
donne  with  speede,  for  in  that  place  there  muste  bee  noe  delaye, 
because  it  is  the  place  of  state,  where  the  lorde  keepeth  his  pres- 
ence, and  in  the  ieyes  of  all  the  best  sorte  of  stranngers  bee  there 
lookers  on ;  that  what  f aulte  beeinge  there  committed,  bee  never 
so  littell,  sheweth  more  than  in  any  place  ells  wheresoever,  and 
therefore  a  special  respecte,  care  and  dilligens,  is  to  bee  had 
therein,  for  that  place  before  all  others  is  the  cheefe  and  prin- 
cipall  staite  in  the  house,  for  service  there  not  dewlie  and  comlie 

ssBrathwait,  21. 
se  Breviate,  325. 
57Brathwait,  321-322. 


174  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [448 

donne,  disgraceth  all  the  rest  in  any  place  ells,  as  littell  woorth, 
what  chardge  of  entertaynement  soever  bee  bistowede,  wherefore 
the  gentlemen  ushers  is  to  take  a  special  care  herein  for  theire 
creddite  sake  and  honnor  of  that  place."  58 

Richard  Brathwait  was  surely  correct  when  he  closed  his  re- 
marks about  this  office  with  saying  —  " .  .  .  onely  this  will  I 
adde,  that  they  are  to  be  well  countenanced,  bothe  by  the  Earle 
and  his  Ladye,  otherwise  their  appointments  will  be  little  re- 
garded; also  in  respect  that  (if  rightly  they  use  their  place)  it 
will  be  founde  not  so  pleasant  as  painefull  vnto  them."  59 

It  is  only  fair  to  noblemen,  however,  to  presume  that  proper 
"countenancing"  was  a  most  difficult  task,  a  flaw  in  the  accom- 
plishing of  which  might  result  very  seriously  for  all  concerned. 
The  9th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  whose  conjugal  relations,  to 
be  sure,  weren't  what  they  might  have  been,  warned  his  son  and 
heir  in  the  following  uncomfortable  vein  —  "Gripe  into  yowr 
hands  what  poore  soe  ever  yow  will  of  governement,  yett  will 
there  be  certain  persons  about  yowr  wyffe,  that  yow  will  never 
Teduee;  —  a  gentleman  ushier,  her  tailor,  and  her  woman;  for 
they  will  ever  talke,  and  ever  be  unreasonable. ' ' 60 

There  were  other  exigencies  too,  unpleasant,  possibly  danger- 
ous, or  perhaps  simply  diverting.  Referring  again  to  Chapman 's 
play,  the  Gentleman  Usher,  already  quoted:  part  of  the  plot 
turns  upon  Prince  Vincentio  and  his  pal,  Lord  Strozza,  who  are 
scheming  to  promote  the  Prince's  difficult  court-ship  of  Earl 
Lasso 's  pretty  daughter,  Margaret.  Circumstances  seem  to  make 
the  prospect  of  success  very  doubtful,  but  Strozza  says  to  the 
Prince  — 

Stro.     Despaire  not:  there  are  meanes  enow  for  you; 

Suborne  some  servant  of  some  good  respect 

Thats  neere  your  choice,  who,  though  she  needs  no  wooing, 

May  yet  imagine  you  are  to  begin 

Your  strange  yong  love  sute,  and  so  speake  for  you, 

Beare  your  kind  letters,  and  get  safe  aceesse. 

All  which,  when  he  shall  do,  you  neede  not  feare 

His  trustie  secrecie,  because  he  dares  not 

Reveale  escapes  whereof  himself e  is  author; 

Whom  you  may  best  attempt  she  must  reveale; 

ssBreviate,  322. 
59  Brathwait,  12. 
eo  Advices  to  his  son,  Archaeologia,  XXVII,  337. 


449]  GREAT    CHAMBER   AND    HALL   SERVICE  175 

For  if  she  already  loves  you,  she  already  knows, 
And  in  an  instant  can  resolve  you  that. 

and  the  Prince,  forthwith  seizing  his  first  opportunity  to  put 
this  advice  into  effect  presently  addresses  Margaret  thus,  — 

Vin.  You  needes  must  presently  devise 

What  person,  trusted  chiefley  with  your  guard, 

You  thinke  is  aptest  for  me  to  corrupt, 

In  making  him  a  meane  for  our  safe  meeting. 

and  Margaret  replies,  right  off-hand,  completely  sure  of  her- 
self— 

Mar.  My  fathers  usher,  none  so  fit, 

If  you  can  worke  him  well :  and  so  farewell, ' ' 

and  surely  enough,  Bassiolo  it  was,  who  really  furthered  the  suit 
of  the  young  lovers,  though  in  a  manner  both  cowardly  and 
ungracious. 

But  to  return  to  our  theme  —  Another  custom  altered  most 
pleasantly  the  ordinary  manner  of  dining  in  the  castle  when 
guests  were  about.  Brathwait  says  —  "At  great  feasts,  or  in 
time  of  great  straingers,  when  it  is  time  for  the  Ewer  to  cover 
the  table  for  the  Earle ;  (the  Trumpetter)  .  .  .  is  to  sounde 
to  give  warning,  and  the  drumme  to  play  till  the  Ewer  be  readie 
to  goe  up  with  the  service,  and  then  to  give  place  to  the  Mu- 
sitians,  who  are  to  play  .  .  .  upon  Shagbutte,  Cornetts, 
Shalmes,  and  such  other  instruments  going  with  winde.  (and) 
In  meale  times  to  play  upon  Violls,  Violins,  or  other  broken 
musicke. ' ' 61  Surely  a  delightful  addition  to  the  whole  stately 
ceremonial !  Against  this  need  for  music  in  time  of  ' '  great 
strangers,"  much  might  be  said;  preparedness,  was  of  course, 
part  of  the  day's  order;  thus  the  Earl  of  Rutland  paid  on  April 
9th,  1541  "to  Richard  Pyke  for  corde  for  the  drumme  and 
skynnes  for  the  hede  of  the  drumme  agaynst  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folke's  comynge  to  Belvoire. "  3s:4d.,  and  again,  "Item,  to  the 
regall  make,  for  Nottingham  for  bryngyng  a  paire  of  regalles 
agaynst  my  Lorde  's  Grace  Duke  of  Norf olke  comyng,  12d. ' ' 62 

For  guests  of  a  lesser  degree,  or  on  the  occasion  of  a  festival, 
the  service  in  the  Great  Hall  was  also  enriched.  A  Marshal  or 
Marshals  of  the  Hall,  if  such  honourable  positions  were  not 
ordinarily  filled  by  one  or  two  of  the  lord 's  chief  officers,  would 

ei  Brathwait,  44. 

es  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  309,  313,  etc. 


176  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [450 

surely  be  elected  to  office  for  the  time  being,  they  to  have  during 
all  the  ceremonies,  entire  charge  and  running  of  the  Hall. 
Brathwait  well  describes  the  duties  of  this  office :  "If  the  Earle 
be  to  receive  and  entertaine  the  Kinges  Majestic,  Queene,  or  our 
Lord  the  Prince,  for  that  time  he  is  to  make  choice  of  such  a 
gentleman,  either  of  his  ordinarie  household  or  of  his  Retainers, 
as  his  Lordship  shall  thincke  fittest  to  supply  that  place,  who 
should  be  a  man  well  experienced,  courteous,  and  well  spoken ;  he 
is  to  carry  in  his  hand  a  white  rodd,  and  to  appoint  the  Yeomen 
Vshers  to  place  all  strangers  according  to  their  degrees,  as  he 
shall  direct  them.  He  must  be  allowed  out  of  the  household 
offices  to  have  such  meate,  breade,  and  beere,  as  he  will  send 
unto  them  for:  For  it  is  not  sufficient  that  the  Kinges  Majestic 
and  such  Nobles  as  attend  be  roially  feasted  and  entertained,  if 
Servingmen  and  such  meaner  personages  be  not  liberally  and 
bowntifully  served;  nor  shall  the  feast  carry  any  great  fame,  if 
the  Hall  and  such  places  wherin  Servingmen  and  their  like,  are 
be  streighted  and  scanted.  Therfore  the  Marshall  and  the  Yeo- 
men Ushers  should  be  men  that  with  francke  and  kinde  speeches 
can  grace  the  service. ' ' 63 

The  Yeoman  Usher  of  the  Hall  furnished  the  Marshals  with 
their  white  staves,  which  were  always  in  the  latter 's  hands  when 
they  were  on  duty  in  the  Hall,  ".  .  .  but  if  they  goe  forth, 
they  are  to  leave  them  with  the  Porter  till  they  returne. " 64  As 
a  requital  for  this  little  service  on  the  part  of  the  Yeoman 
Usher,  the  Officers  Marshal  gave  him  each  year  ".  .  .  a  new 
yeares  gift,  which  is  proper  to  him  selfe. " 65 

Such  were  the  more  important  features  of  the  daily  service  in 
the  Great  Chamber  and  Hall  in  Tudor  times.  The  description  is 
fragmentary,  but  contemporaries,  well  schooled  in  the  matter 
they  discussed,  have  supplied  the  details  used,  and  their  old 
narratives  suffice,  after  all,  to  convey  no  mean  impression  of  the 
subject  in  which  they  were  so  deeply  interested. 


Brathwait,  20. 
25. 
25. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

"Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  I  flie  for  refuge  O  Almightie  God  of 
power  and  glorie,  before  whom  Hell  is  naked  and  destruction  has  no  cov- 
ering —  before  whom  Angells  hide  their  faces  and  the  pillars  of  Heaven 
shake,  who  inhabitest  Eternity,  and  who  had  no  beginning  and  never  shall 
have  end,  who  is  the  beginning  and  end  of  all  things,  'Maker  of  Heaven 
and  Earth'." 

"We  may  go  from  East  to  West,  from  North  to  South;  we  may  ransack 
all  ages  from  one  to  another,  and  whever  we  find  MAN  we  also  find  a 
Eeligion  and  God  acknowledged  by  sacrifices  and  prayers,  although  men 
have  diversely  conceived  of  God  according  to  their  own  fancies  and  imag- 
inations. ' ' 

"Some  tell  us  that  the  true  religion  is  nothing  else  but  charity,  which 
is  the  performing  of  a  man's  duty  toward  his  neighbor.  And  men,  if  they 
durst,  would  also  tell  us  that  religion  is  but  an  instrument  of  civil  govern- 
ment. We  say  that  religion  cannot  exist  without  charity,  yet  that  charitie 
is  not  the  mark  whereby  to  discern  the  true  religion,  but  to  discern  who  is 
religious. ' ' 

—  From  The  Private  Devotions  of  James,  Seventh  Earl  of  Derby. 

Before  the  religious  reform  carried  its  austere  practices  into 
effect  in  England,  the  spiritual  side  of  the  life  in  a  great  house- 
hold was  a  phase  of  domestic  existence  most  elaborately  and 
beautifully  ministered  unto.  Self-sufficing  in  so  many  respects, 
these  noble  establishments  maintained  a  complete  equipment  for 
amply  conducting  the  intricate  and  varied  ritualistic  services 
of  the  old  church. 

In  the  early  sixteenth  century  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land supported  eleven  priests  in  his  household;  they  were  the 
Chapel-Dean,  Surveyor,  Secretary,  Almoner,  the  Sub-Dean,  who 
ordered  the  choir  daily  in  Chapel,  his  Grace 's  Riding  Chaplain,1 
a  Chaplain  attending  daily  upon  the  earl's  eldest  son  and  heir, 
the  Clerk  of  the  Closet,  the  Master  of  Grammar,  the  Gospeller, 
and  lastly,  the  Lady  Mass  Priest.  From  the  very  nature  of  their 

i  I.e.,  to  accompany  the  earl  on  a  journey,  etc. 

177 


178  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [452 

official  positions,  various  of  these  men  were  often  otherwise  oc- 
cupied than  with  spiritual  affairs.  However,  the  rule  was  laid 
down,  that  while  this  group  of  servitors  was  relieved  from  daily 
attendance,  and  from  waiting  in  the  Great  Chamber  upon  the 
earl,  because  of  their  duties  of  office,  they  did  have  to  be  on 
hand  at  service  times  and  at  meals.2 

In  addition  to  his  clerics,  the  earl  had  a  practiced  choir  con- 
cerning whose  efficiency  he  was  very  solicitous.  In  1512  it  was 
composed  of  fifteen  persons  —  six  children  and  nine  men,  basses, 
tenors  and  countertenors,3  and  then  cost  Northumberland  £35: 
15s.  annually,  in  wages.*  Later,  however,  when  it  was  demon- 
strated that  the  four  countertenors  could  not  supply  all  the 
places  for  those  voices  which  the  household  services  required, 
two  additional  singers  were  at  once  hired.5 

Careful  orders  were  formulated  for  these  servants,  describing 
the  allotment  of  their  places  in  the  conduct  of  the  different  re- 
ligious exercises.  Thus  the  four  priests  were  responsible  for 
singing  Mass  each  day ;  the  Sub-Dean  officiated  at  High  Mass  at 
' '  double  feasts ' '  and  was  to  stand  ready  " .  .  .  to  ease  outher 
Preistis  of  Masse  when  he  seith  they  shall  nede."  His  three 
fellows  apportioned  among  themselves  the  duties  of  leadership 
at  High  and  Lady  Mass  each  week,  the  offieiator  at  the  Lady 
Mass  serving  as  Gospellor  the  same  week  at  High  Mass.6 

For  the  services  at  Matins,  Mass  and  Even-song  the  principals 
in  the  Chapel  were  regularly  ordered  after  this  wise,  —  on  the 
"Dean's  side,"  that  functionary  himself,  with  the  Sub-dean, 
then  a  bass,  a  tenor  and  three  countertenors,  while  on  the  "sec- 
ond side"  were  ranged,  first  the  Lady  Mass  priest,  then,  in  or- 
der, the  Gospeller,  a  bass,  two  countertenors,  a  tenor,  a  counter- 
tenor and  a  tenor.  The  choir  Rectors  at  these  services  were 
changed  throughout  the  week,  probably  to  suit  the  exigencies  of 
the  antiphonal  music  sung  or  to  avoid  monotony;  on  Monday 
and  Tuesday  basses  stood  Rectors  on  either  side;  on  Wednesday 
two  countertenors  occupied  the  positions,  while  Thursday,  Fri- 

2  Northumberland  Household  Book,  322-323. 
a  Ibid.,  44.     The  highest  male  voice,  usually  a  falsetto. 
4  Ibid.,  27. 

s  Ibid.,  367.     (There  was  an  addition  to  the  basses  also;  compare  40-41 
and  373-374. 
•  Ibid.,  376. 


453]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  179 

day  and  Saturday,  leadership  was  'assumed  by  a  countertenor 
and  a  tenor  in  alternation.7 

The  Chapel  stations  as  arranged  for  the  Lady  Mass  during  the 
week  stood  usually,  three  countertenors,  a  tenor  and  a  bass, 
varied  as  to  position  on  different  days,  except  on  Friday,  or 
when  his  Grace  was  present  for  the  service,  at  which  times  the 
whole  Chapel  assisted.8 

The  basses  "set"  the  choir  each  day,  serving  turn  for  turn, 
while  in  like  manner  those  of  the  Chapel  group  who  were  skilled 
at  the  "organs,"  turn  and  turn  about,  took  charge  of  those  in- 
struments for  a  week  at  a  time.9 

Besides  these  full  daily  services,  there  were  all  the  special 
festivals  and  Holy-days  more  particularly  observed.  Among 
these,  some  sixteen  feasts  stand  out,  marked  by  celebrations  on 
the  eve  as  well  as  on  the  day,  —  Michaelmas,  Allhallows,  Christ- 
mas, New  Years,  Twelfth  Night,  Candlemas,  Shrove  Tuesday, 
Lady  Day,  "Tenable  Wednesday"  (a  corruption  of  "Tene- 
brae"),  Easter,  Ascension  Eve,  Whitsunday,  Corpus  Christi, 
Trinity  Sunday,  Midsummer  Eve,  and  Lammas.10  Twenty-four 
people  regularly  took  part  in  the  service  of  these  festivals;  this 
included  the  full  choir  under  four  Rectors  choir.11 

Each  of  these  feasts  saw  every  participant  in  freshly  laun- 
dered surplice  and  alb,  while  their  advent  likewise  marked  the 
terms  of  the  altar-cloths,  which,  as  well,  were  put  through  their 
ablutions  preparatory  to  the  celebrations.  This  constituted  the 
".  .  .  Holl  WESHING  of  all  mannar  of  LYNNON  belong- 
ing my  Lordes  Chapell  for  an  Holl  Yere  .  .  ."  and  such 
tidiness  cost  his  Grace  full  17s :4d.  per  annum! 12 

While  certain  of  these  Holy-days,  the  .so-called  "principall 
feasts,"  were  accompanied  with  merriment  and  laden  board 
(jovial  contingents  if  scarcely  religious),  an  integral  part  of  the 
sacred  observance  of  Lent  was  its  prescribed  menu,  expressly 
provided  in  all  the  great  households,  Catholic  and  Protestant 
alike.  Northumberland  especially  purchased  against  that  grey 

7  Northumberland  Household  Book,  367,  370. 

&Ibid.,  368-369. 

» Ibid.,  369,  373-374. 

lo/fowZ.,  242-244. 

11  Ibid.,  198. 

12  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  242  et  seq. 


180  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [454 

season,  stock-fish,  white  and  red  herring,  sprats,  salt  salmon, 
sturgeon,  eels,  figs  and  great  raisins,  all  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  last  from  Shrove  Tide  until  Easter.13  In  1576,  Lord  North's 
Lenten  ((  stuff"  laid  in  at  Sturbridge  Fair,  consisted  of  "3  Bar- 
ells  of  Whight  herring  iijli.iijs.vjd.  ij  Cades  of  Redd  herring 
xxs.  ij  Cades  of  Spratts  iijs.viijd.  xx  Salt  eels  xxvjs.viijd.  a  bar- 
rell  of  Salt  Salmon  iiijli.xiijs.iiijd.  "  14  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby, 
likewise  paid  £77:8s:3d.,  in  1561,  for  a  similar  provision  also 
purveyed  '  '  at  Sturbrug  ffeare  and  in  the  countrey.  '  '  15 

Food  of  this  sort  was  not  the  only  provision  used  in  the  house- 
holds during  Lent,  nor  were  the  same  diet  regulations  set  for  all 
the  family.  Northumberland's  children  always  had  their  break- 
fasts, while  the  rest  of  the  family  partook  of  but  a  rigorous  fare 
in  the  morning  on  Sunday,  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday. 
"BRAIKFASTE  for  my  Lorde  and  my  Lady"  consisted  of 
"FURST  a  Loif  of  Brede  in  Trenchors  ij  Manchetts  a  Quart  of 
Bere  a  Quart  of  Wyne  ij  Pecys  of  Saltfisch  vj  Baconn'd  Her- 
ryng  iiij  White  Herryng  or  a  Dysche  of  Sproits."  This  menu 
was  graduated  down  to  the  two  loaves  of  bread,  gallon  of  beer 
and  two  pieces  of  salt-fish  allotted  to  the  yeomen  officers  in  the 
establishment,  in  groups  of  four.16 

All  of  the  religious  services  were  celebrated  in  household 
chapels  handsomely  provided  with  the  necessary  utensils  and 
vestments.  Northumberland's  "Vestry  Stuf"  was  under  the 
special  charge  of  a  vestry  yeoman,  and  when  the  family  moved 
from  Wressil  to  Leckinfield,  or  back  again,  it  likewise,  was  al- 
ways transported.  For  this  purpose  one  cart  was  set  aside; 
into  it  were  loaded  the  four  antiphonaries,17  the  four  grails,18 
hangings  for  three  altars,  surplices,  altar  cloths,  and  the  set  of 
vestments  and  single  vestments  used  every  day.19  "And  all 


id.,  7-11. 

!*  Extracts  from  his  accounts,  Archaeologia,  XIX,  293  et  seq. 

is  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  2. 

i«  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  73-74. 

11  "  A  service  book  compiled  by  Pope  Gregory  the  Great.  It  comprised 
all  the  invitatories,  responsories,  collects,  and  whatever  else  was  said  or  sung 
in  the  choir  but  the  lessons."  (Encyl.  Diet.) 

!»  Grail  —  graduale.  "A  service  book  containing  the  hymns  or  prayers 
to  be  sung  by  the  choir,  so  called  from  certain  short  phrases  after  the 
Epistle  sung  in  gradibus  (upon  the  steps  of  the  altar)."  (Ibid.) 

1  9  Single  vestments,  likely  tunicles,  Bishop  Percy's  note  in  Northumber- 
land Household  Book,  447. 


455]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  181 

outher  my  Lordes  Chapell  Stuff  tQ  be  sent  afore  by  my  Lords 
Chariot  before  his  Lordshipe  remeve. ' ' 20  This  remainder  was 
heavy  appurtenance  probably,  for  the  said  "Chariot"  required 
seven  great  trotting  horses  to  draw  it.21 

In  1543  the  chapel  of  Thomas,  Earl  of  Rutland,  contained 
furnishings  valued  at  £59 :19s.  Among  these  were  seven  altar 
fronts  including  one  of  red.  damask  and  green  "Bruges  satin" 
embroidered,  one  ornamented  with  the  family  crest,  two  of 
crewel  needle-work,  and  two  of  red  and  green  Bruges  satin  em- 
broidered with  images  of  John  and  Mary.  There  were  eight  sets 
of  vestments,  some  with  copes,  three  of  which  were  for  priest, 
deacon,  and  sub-deacon;  one  set  was  made  entirely  of  crimson 
taffeta  embroidered  with  angels,  the  cope  to  the  same  being  lined 
with  green  sarcenet;  while  another,  boldly  emblazoned  with 
falcon's  wings  and  true-loves,  suggests  services  commemorative 
of  joyous  life,  as  those  of  tawny  damask  or  white  fustian  seem 
penitentially  plain.  In  addition,  there  were  seven  separate 
copes,  service  books,  latten  candle-sticks,  a  cross  with  copper  and 
gilt  staff,  chalices,  gilt  altar  basins,  gilt  cruets,  censers,  holy- 
water  ' '  stok  and  sprynkle, ' '  and  the  usual  pyx  and  sacring  bell, 
together  with  a  "ship"  for  frankincense.22  The  chapel  stuff  of 
the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  at  Suffolk  Place  in  Southwark,  included  in 
1535,  the  customary  utensils,  together  with  six  gilt  images  of 
Mary  Magdalene  and  Saints  Edward,  Margaret,  Thomas,  Kath- 
erine  and  George,  each  of  which  weighed  from  sixty  to  seventy- 
nine  ounces.  The  entire  chapel  plate  was  estimated  at  a  value 
of  £193 :12s.23 

Such,  in  meagre  outline,  were  some  of  the  characteristic  means 
employed  by  great  noblemen  before  the  Reformation  in  fulfilling 
their  religious  life.  How  loudly,  in  striking  contrast,  does 
Brath wait's  description  of  the  sober  functions  of  an  earl's 
Chaplain,  or  the  simple  emphasis  laid  upon  preaching  in  a 
household  like  that  of  Edward  and  Henry,  Earls  of  Derby,  pro- 
claim the  prosaic  changes  in  method  enacted  by  the  triumphing 
religious  innovators! 

"The  Preacher  or  Chaplaine    .     .     .     is  to  be  a  man  very 

20  Northumberland  Household  SooTc,  387. 

21  Ibid.,  127. 

22  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  347,  349. 

23  Grvmsthorpe  House  Papers,  452-453,  and  Introduction,  xxxv. 


182  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [456 

well  learned  and  of  earnest  conversation.  At  what  time  he  doth 
know  the  Earle  or  Ladies  pleasure,  whether  they  will  have  him 
to  reade  a  Lecture,  or  to  say  Divine  Service,  having  prepared 
himselfe  accordingly,  at  the  hour  appointed  therunto,  he  is  to 
come  into  the  Chappell,  or  chamber  appointed  for  that  purpose, 
and  ther  to  attend  untill  such  time  as  the  Earle  and  Countesse 
be  placed  and  seated,  and  then  to  precede  with  his  Lecture  or 
Service,  as  hath  beene  appointed  him.  He  is  to  dine  with  the 
cheefe  officers,  that  he  may  be  ready  at  the  Lord  his  table  before 
meales,  to  call  vpon  God  for  his  blessings,  and  at  after  meales  to 
give  thanckes  for  the  same. ' ' 24  This  was  after  the  very  heart 
of  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  who,  in  1587  had  but  one  Chaplain, 
Sir  Gilbert  Towneley,  officially  enrolled  in  his  household.25  A 
veritable  troupe  of  divines,  however,  some  sixteen  or  eighteen, 
representing  the  best  minds  among  the  diocesan  clergy,26 
"preached"  before  his  Grace  from  time  to  time,  either  at  the 
Sunday  or  weekly  service.27  Not  infrequently,  too,  the  pulpit 
at  Lathom  or  Knowsley  was  filled  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester 
himself,  who  alone,  or  accompanied  by  his  wife,  was  often  enter- 
tained at  the  house,  usually  sojourning  there  for  several  days.28 
"What  an  interval  —  from  the  rich  magnificence  of  the  Roman 
Church,  to  the  frigid  plane  of  the  ' '  Institutes. ' '  Here  were  pre- 
eminently those  lettered  men  of  God,  the  preaching  models  of 
Calvin  and  Knox,  well  equipped,  we  fancy,  as  their  stern  vis- 
aged  leaders,  to  hold  forth  mightily,  while  their  terrified  listen- 
ers did  "grew  and  tremble,"  like  those  sobbing  audiences  in  old 
St.  Andrews! 

Music  still  constituted,  of  course,  a  goodly  part  of  the  Chapel 
service,  and  their  lordships  evidenced  the  same  keen  interest  in 
its  effective  welfare  as  under  the  old  regime  —  nay,  could  at 
times  turn  their  own  skill  to  that  noble  art.  The  very  religiously- 
minded  James,  7th  Earl  of  Derby,  was  a  lover  of  music,  at 
least  of  the  religious  sort,  and  did  some  composing  of  his  own, 
having  written  an  anthem,  words  and  music,  which  was  often 

2*  Brathwait,  op.  cit.,  12. 

25  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  23. 

26  Ibid.,  Introduction,  vi-vii,  and  the  excellent  biographical  notes  at  the 
end  of  the  volume  by  the  editor,  Rev.  F.  R.  Raines. 

27  Ibid.,  see  pages  of  the  Journal  Boole,  28-90. 

28  Ibid.,  31,  34-35,  44,  46,  48,  59,  64,  72,  89. 


457]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  183 

sung  at  Knowsley  ' '  to  the  organ,  lute,  Irish  harp  and  violls. ' ' 29 
The  anthem  begins  as  follows  — ' '  Come  ye  hearts  that  be  Holy, 
celebrate  your  God,  the  unbegotten  Father,  the  Fountain  of  all 
good,  who  made  all  things  by  his  Word,  and  sustains  them  by 
the  influence  of  his  mighty  Love  .  .  ."a  vigorous  invoca- 
tion, urgent  for  stalwart  harmony !  The  earl  relished  his  genial 
labour,  and  had  not  the  terrible  days  of  the  Civil  War  rudely 
interrupted,  he  was  minded  to  have  wrought  over  the  whole 
blessed  Creed !  Whatever  bent  his  Grace  had  for  music  he  prob- 
ably inherited  from  his  father,  the  Earl  William,  to  whose  credit 
is  set  down  the  composition  of  at  least  one  original  piece,  in 
lighter  humour  than  his  son 's  —  the  same  being  a  pavin  for  the 
orpharion,  published  in  1624.  However,  Earl  William  had  a 
fondness  for  Church  music  too;  he  established  a  little  endow- 
ment of  £100,  the  interest  to  be  paid  to  the  use  of  the  organist 
of  Chester  Cathedral. 

The  ordinary  preparation  for  such  a  Chapel  service  as  the 
above,  was  equally  severe,  the  matter-of-fact  arrangements  being 
part  of  the  functions  of  the  Gentleman  Usher.  "Breakefast  be- 
ing ended,  the  one  of  them  is  to  see  the  chappel  wher  the  Lec- 
ture is  to  be  reade,  or  service  sayde,  that  it  be  furnished  with 
foote  carpetts,  chaires,  stooles,  and  cushions  for  the  Earle  and 
his  Ladie,  and  the  Strangers,  according  to  their  degrees."30 
Any  unseemly  interruption  was  avoided  by  locking  all  the  gates 
just  previous  to  prayers.  The  Porter  saw  to  this  charge,  after- 
ward coming  in  to  service  with  all  his  keys.31 

Despite  the  fact,  however,  that  notable  alterations  in  the  char- 
acter of  household  services  were  introduced  by  the  Reformation, 
there  was  always  one  great  practical  purpose  for  which  such  ex- 
ercises were  fostered,  whatever  their  nature,  ornate  or  plain. 
Not  a  noble  master,  but  felt  that  his  control  over  the  servants 
was  fortified,  and  a  difficult  management  made  more  certain, 
through  the  attendance  of  the  entire  house,  compulsory  if  neces- 
sary, at  religious  services,  and  regulation  to  that  effect  was  gen- 
erally instituted  in  every  establishment. 

29  Stanley  Papers,  Part  3,  1,  xlvi-xlvii,  and  the  notes. 

so  Brathwait,  op.  tit.,  11. 

31  "Lord  Fairfax's  Orders  for  the  servants  of  his  household  (after  the 
Civil  Wars)."  Quoted  by  Bishop  Percy  in  notes  to  the  Northumberland 
Household  Boole,  421,  et  seq. 


184  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [458 

In  1469,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  commenced  his  Domestic 
Ordinances  with  such  a  regimen,  — ' '  FYRST,  sith  that  alle  wis- 
dom, grace,  and  goodnes.se,  procedeth  of  veray  love,  drede,  and 
feythfulle  service  of  God,  withoute  whose  helpe  and  socoure  no 
good  governaunce  ne  politique  rule  may  be  hadde ;  it  is  ordeyned 
therefore,  that  every  holy  day  the  elerke  of  the  seid  Duke's 
closett  shalle  ringe  a  bell,  at  places  convenient,  to  matyns,  masse, 
and  evensonge;  and  one  of  the  chapleyns  shall  be  redy  to  saye 
matyns  and  masse  to  the  housholde,  and  also  evensonge;  and 
that  every  gentylman,  yeoman  and  groome,  not  having  resonable 
impediment,  be  at  the  seid  dyvine  service;  and  it  is  ordeyned, 
that  the  clerk  of  the  closette,  the  seid  Duke  being  present  at 
divine  service,  be  in  his  surplyce,  lighting  wax  at  the  levacion 
every  day  thereof ;  fayling,  to  lese  his  dayes  wages. ' ' 32  Nor  was 
this  regulation  simply  for  home  use;  just  as  insistently  he  fur- 
ther commanded  "ITEM,  that  if  the  seid  Duke  lye  at  London, 
or  any  other  place,  at  the  parliamente  or  counsell,  or  whensoever 
he  shall  occupie  his  barge,  that  every  of  his  servauntes,  excepte 
suche  as  be  appoynted  to  abide,  attende,  and  waite  diligentlye 
uppon  the  seide  Duke ;  and  alsoe  in  alle  other  places ;  that  they 
attende  uppon  the  seid  Duke  to  masse  and  evensonge;  uppon 
peyne  of  a  dayes  wages. ' ' 33 

Early  in  the  following  century,  the  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, wishing  to  secure  at  once  the  proper  performance  of 
his  servitors'  duties,  and  the  benefits  of  their  regular  participa- 
tion in  spiritual  exercises,  decreed  a  clever  if  bleak  ruling  to 
these  ends  — ' '  ITEM  it  is  Ordenyde  by  my  Lorde  and  his  Coun- 
sell to  have  a  MOROWE  MASSE-PREIST  dailly  now  in  his 
Lordeshipes  Hous  to  say  Masse  Dailly  at  vj  of  the  Clok  in  the 
mornynge  thoroweowte  the  Yere  that  the  Officers  of  his  Lorde- 
shipes Housholde  may  ryse  at  a  dew  Hower  and  to  here  Masse 
dailly  To  th'  entent  that  they  may  com  to  recyve  their  Keys  of 
their  Offices  at  the  Hower  apoynted  That  they  shall  not  nede  to 
come  to  no  Service  aferwarde  for  tendynge  of  their  Offices  By 
reason  whirof  my  Lorde  nor  Straungers  shall  not  be  unservyde 
at  no  howre  nor  tyme  when  Ushers  shall  comaunde. ' ' 3* 

32  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  89. 

**IUd.,  93. 

3*  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  170-171. 


459]  WORSHIP  AND   CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  185 

Henry,  Earl  of  Derby  ordered  ip.  1587  — "IMPRIMIS  that 
all  my  Lo.  his  household  Servants  gen'allie  doe  repaire  vnto  and 
heare  devyne  S  'vice. " 35  —  while  Lord  Burghley  ruled  at  Theo- 
balds, that  were  he  at  home  or  not,  there  Were  to  be  two  prayer 
services  each  day,  the  first  at  eleven  o'clock,  AM.,  and  the  other 
at  six  P.M.,  before  supper.36  As  usual,  though,  it  rests  with 
voluble  old  Brathwait  to  voice  best  the  contemporary  practice  in 
this  regard.  He  fashions  a  somewhat  verbose  speech,  which 
with  true  Elizabethan  obsequious  self-abasement,  he  wishes 
might  serve  as  a  pattern  address,  to  be  delivered  by  an  earl  be- 
fore his  newly  instituted  household.  It  is  quite  like  a  monitory 
sermon,  and  no  small  part  of  it  is  devoted  to  the  question  in 
hand.  The  approach  is  made,  however,  through  a  description 
of  the  rather  inquisitorial  work  to  be  assumed  by  the  chief  of- 
ficers which  shall  enforce  a  regulation  taken  for  granted.  "And, 
forasmuch,  as  neither  private  familye,  citye,  or  common  wealth 
can  be  rightly  ordered  and  governed,  except  in  the  first  place, 
the  Lord  of  Lordes  be  feared,  loved,  honoured  and  served,  he 
(i.e.  the  earl)  doth  earnestly  require  and  straightly  charge  his 
cheefe  Officers  to  be  vigilant  and  carefull  to  marke  and  see  if 
any  inferiour  Officers,  gentlemen  pages,  yeomen,  or  groomes  be 
carles  or  slacke  in  comming  to  the  place  appointed  for  the  or- 
dinary Lecture,  or  to  morning  and  evening  prayer;  and  if  any 
fayle  to  come  to  examine  them  and  try  whether  ther  were  iust 
cause  for  their  absence  or  not,  also  they  are  to  learne  and  search 
out  whether  any  in  his  house  doe  not  professe  God,  his  true  re- 
ligion, or  that  be  Idolaters,  blasphemers  of  his  holy  name,  pro- 
faners  of  the  Sabaoth,  not  giving  reverence  to  Prince  and 
Parente,  given  unto  fighting  or  quarrelling  whereby  murder 
may  ensew;  that  be  adulterers,  fornicators,  or  hawnters  of  bad 
houses,  using  to  lye  out  of  his  house  in  the  nighte;  that  he  fel- 
lons,  or  purloyners;  or  that  be  bearers  of  false  witnes,  tellers  of 
lying  tales,  breeders  of  contention ;  or  that  be  drunkards,  hawnt- 
ers of  tavernes  or  alehouses."  Thus  with  Scriptural  exactitude 
he  runs  through  the  gamut  of  human  erring,  and  then  continues 
with  an  interesting  account  of  the  machinery  used  to  discipline 
all  delinquents  — ' '  Theese  and  such  like  vices  and  offences,  yow, 

as  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  20. 

36  Peck's  Desiderata  Curiosa  (Burghley 's  Life),  22-23,  et  seq. 


186  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [460 

my  cheefe  officers,  shall  punish  in  the  manner  and  forme  follow- 
ing: For  the  first  offence  (whether  it  be  committed  by  gentle- 
man, ^eoman,  or  groome),  yow  shall  call  the  partye  off  ending 
before  yow  in  the  cownting  house,  and  ther  very  sharply  ad- 
monish him  and  threaten  him :  For  the  seconde  offence,  if  he  be 
a  gentleman,  yow  shall  imprison  him  in  the  cownting  house, 
vnder  the  custodye  of  an  yeoman  vsher:  if  he  be  an  yeoman  or 
groome,  then  to  imprison  him  in  the  porters  lodge:  the  partye 
offending  to  remaine  imprisoned  so  long  time  as  in  your  discre- 
tions yow  thincke  the  penaltye  of  the  faulte  deserveth,  except  I 
or  my  wife  commande  the  contrarye :  For  the  third  offence, 
(whether  it  be  committed  by  gentleman,  yeoman,  or  groome) 
the  partye  offending  is  to  be  called  before  yow  into  the  cownting 
house,  the  greatest  parte  of  my  servants  being  ther  assembled; 
and  yow"  shall  openly  make  recitall  of  all  his  offences,  and  take 
from  him  his  livery,  or  at  the  least  his  badge,  and  pay  him  such 
wages  as  to  him  is  due,  dischardging  him  from  comming  within 
my  house,  that  he  may  be  an  example  to  others :  this  shall  yow 
doe,  except  my  wife  or  I  command  the  contrary.  Secondly,  yee 
my  cheefe  officers  are  to  be  carefull,  and  as  much  as  lieth  in  you 
to  foresee,  that  I  and  my  Ladye  be  orderly  and  dutifully  served 
and  reverenced.  Thirdly,  that  my  familye  may  live  together  in 
love  and  kindenes. ' ' 37  The  officers  were  assisted  in  this  police 
vigilance  by  the  Chaplain,  whose  authority,  however,  was  ex- 
tended even  over  them.  He  acted  rather  in  the  capacity  of  a  re- 
forming advance  agent,  or  spiritual  plain-clothes  man,  and  at 
no  time  could  his  moral  espionage  have  been  a  pleasant  occupa- 
tion —  "If  he  see  any  of  the  householde  abuse  themselves  with 
offences  and  sinnes  towards  the  Majestic  of  God,  he  is  privately 
to  advise  and  earnestly  to  admonish  the  party  so  offending  to 
reforme  himselfe;  but  (if  he  finde  the  party  so  admonished  to 
persist  and  continew  still  in  his  wickedness,)  then  he  is  to  make 
it  knowne  to  the  cheefe  officers,  that  he  may  receive  correction 
and  punishment,  according  to  the  orders  for  the  same  pre- 
scribed. And  if  he  happen  to  finde  any  of  the  cheefe  officers 
slacke  or  careles  in  punishing  of  offenders,  or  that  themselves  be 
given  to  swearing  or  other  vices,  after  private  admonition  to 
them  given,  if  they  amend  not  their  faultes,  he  is  to  make  the 

37  Brathwait,  op.  cit.y  4-5. 


461]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  187 

same  knowne  to  the  Earle :  But  he  is  to  have  regarde  that  for 
every  light  offence  he  runne  not  to  his  Lorde,  to  fill  his  eares 
with  tales  against  his  servants ;  For  I  have  knowne  some  so  busy 
themselves,  in  every  matter,  as  their  lives  have  bene  of  many 
disliked,  and  their  doctrine  very  little  regarded."  38 

Our  pious  old  historian  thus  naively  embellishes  and  rather 
makes  his  own,  a  venerable  procedure,  time-honoured  and  sea- 
soned, for  drawing  negligent  members  of  a  great  establishment 
back  into  the  straight  and  narrow  way.  Over  one  hundred 
years  before  him,  in  1469,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  ".  .  .  ap- 
poynted  and  ordeigned,  that  the  Steward,  Thesaurer,  and  Coun- 
troller,  or  twoe  of  them,  shalle  calle  afore  them,  in  the  counting- 
house,  all  the  seid  Duke's  servauntes,  commaunding  and  strayt- 
ly  charginge  them,  in  the  seid  Duke's  behalf e,  to  be  of  wur- 
shipfull,  honeste,  and  vertuouse  conversation,  absteyninge  them- 
selves from  vicious  rule  and  suspected  places;  and  also  re- 
strayning  them  from  seditious  language,  varyaunces,  discen- 
tions,  debates,  and  frayes,  as  well  within  the  seide  Duke's  courte 
as  withoute,  wherethorough  any  disclaundre  or  misgovernaunce 
might  growe;  and  if  any  contrary  to  this  commaundemente  of- 
fend, that  he  leese  a  monethes  wages  at  the  fyrst  offence ;  at  the 
second  offence  to  be  imprysoned  by  the  space  of  a  moneth;  at 
the  third  offence,  that  he  be  pute  oute  of  the  seid  Duke's 
courte. " 39  It  was  ancient  custom,  like  so  much  of  household 
management,  a  very  part  of  the  organization,  so  that  when 
Brathwait  protests  that  he  had  ".  .  .  neither  President  nor 
Recordes  to  helpe  my  memorye,  .  .  . " 40  when  he  wrote  his 
treatise,  he  doubtless  spoke  the  truth. 

With  so  much  thought,  time  and  money  lavished  on  the  pan- 
oplied side  of  religion,  apart  from  its  practical  bent  so  shrew'dly 
capitalized  by  these  keen  old  noblemen,  in  many  a  household  the 
service  was  truly  spiritual,  sincerely  cherished  for  its  own  sake, 
and  some  of  the  gentle  but  hard  lessons  it  expounded,  fell  on 
heedful  ears.  Many  a  costly  public  charity,  founded  by  noble- 
men like  Burghley,41  proclaimed  a  proud  stinting  of  self  before 

ss  Brathwait,  op.  cit.,  12-13. 

39  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  89. 

40  Brathwait,  op.  cit.,  9. 

41  "  Ho  also  built  an  hospital  at  Stamford,  near  his  house  of  Burghley,  all 
of  free-stone,  and  gave  an  hundred  pounds  lands  to  it,  for  maintenance  of 


188  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [462 

the  urgent  needs  of  a  less  fortunate  brother;  while,  within  the 
compass  of  home  life  too,  kindly  practices  were  often  exercised, 
which  still  sing  glees  for  hearts  once  attuned  to  good;  amid  so 
much  that  was  sordid  or  cruel,  anon  there  shines  a  warm  hu- 
manity, —  whose  golden  threads  gleam  in  the  somber  warp. 

"In  former  times  Earles  vsed  to  have  their  Chaplaine,  who 
carried  a  bagg  of  small  monye  to  give  to  the  poore,  as  they 
traveiled;  but  that  is  now  out  of  use.  If  any  of  their  servants 
lay  forth  any,  it  is  to  be  entered  in  this  title  (i.e.  "Almes"). 
But  I  wish  both  Earle  and  Lady  to  have,  either  of  them,  a 
privy  purse,  and  themselves  to  give  to  the  poore,  that  the  right 
hande  may  not  knowe  what  the  left  hande  giveth. ' ' 42  Thus, 
for  once  scarcely  regretful,  Richard  Brathwait  describes  the 
passing  of  a  traditional  practice  and  sternly  hopes  for  the  in- 
auguration of  that  Utopian  generosity  never  yet  arrived  at  its 
hey-day.  However  all  this  may  have  been,  the  old  historian 
here  dwells  upon  that  charity,  at  once  the  most  common  and  pic- 
turesque in  vogue  with  the  whole  Tudor  nobility  —  almsgiving. 

By  this  is  meant  no  church  or  votive  offering,  no  donations 
towards  any  large  philanthropic  purpose,  but  rather  the  small 
money  response  to  those  pitiful  cries  for  mercy  incessantly 
wailed  at  these  great  folk  by  the  out-cast  and  indigent,  ever  at 
hand.  It  was  scarcely  possible  for  a  nobleman  or  one  of  his 
servants  to  leave  the  gates  without  being  importuned,  or  of  his 
own  accord  bestowing  a  pittance  upon  some  hapless  wight, 
worthy  or  unworthy,  while  a  journey  for  pleasure  or  a  business 
trip,  invariably  saw  the  voyageur,  lord  or  servitor,  provided 
with  change,  against  the  certain  plea  for  help. 

Almsgiving,  in  fact,  was  regarded  as  a  regular  part  of  the 
household  expenses;  and  the  usual  careful  provision  was  made 
for  it,  a  detailed  book-keeping  always  duly  recording  the  sums, 
however  small,  thus  laid  out.  The  Steward  of  Lord  John  How- 
ard made  a  most  characteristic  entry  in  his  accounts  on  May 
24th,  1482  —  "My  Lady  paid  George  Daniel  (one  of  the  house- 

thirteen  poor  men  forever,  establishing  many  good  ordinances  and  statutes 
for  the  government  thereof,  in  hope  to  continue  it  to  the  benefit  of  the  poor. 
He  gave  also  thirty  pounds  a  year  forever  to  S.  John 's  college  in  Cambridge, 
where  he  was  a  scholar.  He  gave  also  some  plate  to  remain  to  the  house." 
—  Life  in  Peck's  Desiderata  Curiosa,  26. 
«  Brathwait,  op.  cit.,  48. 


463]  WORSHIP  AND   CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  189 

hold  servants)  for  al  pereels  that  he  leid  owte  at  Harwich,  bote 
and  al,  and  for  costes  to  London  and  hors  here  and  home  agen, 
and  the  men  that  were  with  the  horsses,  and  almis  and  every 
thing,  the  Summa  of  xxiij.s:xj.d."  43 

Indeed,  Lord  John  seems  never  to  have  neglected  what  he 
thought  was  his  duty  in  this  respect;  scarce  a  day  passed  with- 
out its  little  benevolence.  The  amounts  were  never  large,  vary- 
ing approximately  from  j.d.  to  xij.d.,  but  they  were  constant,44 
dispensed  while  Howard  or  some  servant  was  travelling,  hunting 
parties  even,  not  excepted.45 

Almsgiving  was  not  necessarily  a  travelling  practice  only; 
many  a  poor  suppliant  made  his  plaint  right  at  the  castle  gates, 
and  any  response  under  such  circumstances,  was  usually,  along 
with  other  like  duties,  in  charge  of  the  official  Almoner.  Wil- 
liam Cecil,  Lord  Burghley,  believed  in  this  sort  of  charity  and 
was,  in  fact,  generous  by  comparison  with  other  noblemen,  in 
his  alms;  Mr.  Richard  Neale  his  Chaplain  at  Theobalds  giving 
regularly  each  week  xx.s.  to  the  poor.46  The  old  statesman's 
hard-headed  sense  however,  likewise  approved  a  more  vigorous 
policy,  at  once  thrifty  and  beneficent;  he  spent  no  less  than  ten 
pounds  a  week  hiring  such  folk  to  work  in  his  gardens  as  weed- 
ers  and  at  other  labour.47 

Before  Burghley 's  day,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  decreed 
that  his  Treasurer  should  pay  over  to  the  Almoner,  at  the  count- 
ing house  xij.d.  per  diem,  the  same  to  be  distributed  by  the  lat- 
ter, at  his  discretion,  to  the  needy,  ".  .  .  they  to  praye  for 
the  noble  estate  and  prosperitie  of  the  seid  Duke. ' ' 48  This  sum 
amounted  to  only  £18:  5.s.  a  year,  and  seems  rather  a  pitiful 
commentary  upon  the  duke's  sordidness;  such  an  alms,  though, 
was  munificent,  compared  with  the  £4:  15s:  7^d.,  which  was 
doled  out  during  1561,  by  the  clerks  and  Steward  of  Henry, 

43 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  98. 

44  Ibid.,  107,  115,  121,  123,  126,  127,  128,  130,  131,  132,  137,  139,  140,  142, 
149,  151,  156,  157,  159,  162,  163,  166,  167,  168,  171,  172,  174,  178,  188,  191, 
192,  196,  203,  204,  207,  208,  210,  364,  367,  368,  370,  398,  399,  401,  410,  456, 
463,  472,  etc.,  etc. 

45  The  Earls  of  Rutland  at  Belvoir  gave  in  just  this  same  way.     Vide 
MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  382,  390,  449,  etc. 

46  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  23. 

47  Ibid.,  23. 

48  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  89. 


190  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [464 

Earl  of  Derby,  a  shameful  bagatelle  set  against  that  year's  lav- 
ish outlay  for  ornaments,  apparel  and  jewels  —  £1030:  19s: 
lO^d ! 49  Surely  with  a  left  hand  so  well  schooled,  the  member 
on  the  right  could  well  afford  to  sit  in  assured  ignorance!  Pe- 
nurious as  these  alms  appear,  however,  some  recompense  was 
made  in  other  ways,  for  this  was  never  the  only  manner  in 
which  their  Graces  bethought  them  of  the  least  of  those  about 
them. 

All  manner  of  men  took  these  small  pecuniary  aids  from 
noblemen.  Between  1560-1562,  the  Bertie  household  (later 
Lord  "Willoughby's)  paid  alms  to  the  following  unfortunates 
among  others :  —  "a  poore  mayn  which  had  bene  in  Bedlam ' '  — 
"a  poore  man  at  the  gate,  which  had  his  howse  burnt"  —  "the 
prisoners  at  Huntington  as  herr  Grace  passed  thorowe"  —  "to 
a  poorae  woman  in  the  waye  "  —  "  the  prisoners  of  Newgate ' '  — 
"the  poore  at  Haunces  howse"  —  "Two  poore  women  at  black- 
freyers"  —  and  "to  the  presoners  at  the  marshalsee. "  50  Early 
in  the  16th  century  Sir  Henry  Willoughby's  generosity  was  ex- 
tended to  about  the  same  class  —  now  it  was  ' '  a  pore  man  that 
was  robyd"  .  .  .  "a  man  that  lyse  bed-ryden  as  ye  goo  to 
Westmynster"  .  .  .  "to  a  woman  of  Lycestershyre  that 
whent  wyth  a  testymonyall  for  burnyng  of  hyr  howse"  .  .  . 
or,  more  characteristic  of  his  age  "to  a  clarcke  goyng  for  orders 
cauled  John  Gleyden  "...  hapless  ' '  skolers, ' ' 51  who  again 
and  again  drew  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  well  disposed  knight, 
.  .  .  or  "  ij  pore  men  that  com  f rome  Rowme. ' ' 52  Lord 
"William  Howard's  Castle,  Nawarth,  was  besought  by  the 
maimed,  blind  and  leprous,  none  of  whom  were  sent  empty 
away; 53  so  the  dismal  line  could  be  tallied;  verily  "ye  have  the 
poor  always  with  you,  and  whensoever  ye  will  ye  can  do  them 
good"! 

Over  and  above  this  continuous  small  alms  giving,  many  of 
the  nobility  assumed  heavier  responsibilities  of  a  charitable  na- 

*9  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  6-7. 

50  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers  (1907),  465,  463-467. 

si  MSS.  of  Lord  Middleton,  336,  365,  366,  391,  et«. 

52  The  Earls  of  Rutland  gave  to  poor  scholars  also,  and  once  to  a  com- 
pany of  scholars.  MSS.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  304,  384. 

ss  Household  Books,  Lord  William  Howard,  Naworth  Castle,  54-55,  87- 
89,  e.g. 


465]  WORSHIP  AND   CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  191 

ture.  It  is  told  of  Lord  Burghleyy  that  he  used  to  buy  up  grain 
in  great  quantities,  in  time  of  plenty,  and  then,  when  the  price 
was  up,  to  supply  the  markets  of  the  neighborhood  from  his 
store  at  a  reasonable  figure,  thus  breaking  the  high  cost  for  the 
poor.  He  regularly,  each  year  gave  away  twenty  suits  of  cloth- 
ing to  as  many  poor  men,  and  in  later  life,  as  much  as  forty  or 
fifty  pounds  a  term  for  the  release  of  prisoners,  while  in  each 
of  the  last  three  years  of  his  existence,  he  expended  forty-five 
shillings  a  week,  for  poor  prisoners  and  poor  parishes,  "so  as 
his  certain  almes,  beside  extraordinaries,  was  cast  up  to  be  five 
hundred  pounds  yearly,  one  year  with  another. ' ' B4 

The  House  of  Rutland  likewise  frequently  gave  freely  to  sim- 
ilar worthy  causes.  In  January  of  1592-1593,  the  Countess 
Dowager,  Elizabeth,  paid  thirty-six  shillings  to  the  town  of 
Orston,  to  be  bestowed  on  the  poor  there,  and  "towardes  the 
mayntaynynge  of  the  hye  wayes"55  —  the  latter  use,  like  so 
many  mediaeval  practices,  a  semi-religious  obligation,  apparent- 
ly. The  year  before  she  paid  for  building  a  hospital  at  Bottes- 
ford,  probably  a  memorial  to  her  deceased  husband.  It  was  not 
a  large  structure,  the  entire  mason  work  costing  but  £28,  the 
carpenter  work  but  £9,  while  ten  oaks  were  felled  at  Croxton 
park  to  furnish  the  necessary  wood.56  By  the  end  of  the  next 
year,  the  building  was  completed,  and  several  women  and  men, 
dressers  of  flax,  spinners,  carders  and  weavers,  were  busily  en- 
gaged upon  making  blankets,  sheets  and  coverlets  for  use  there, 
the  entire  cost  being  charged  to  her  Grace.67  In  1604,  Earl 
Roger  gave  a  generous  alms  to  the  poor  of  Grantham  and  Neward 
towns,  amounting  to  no  less  than  £60,  from  September  28th  to 
December  15th,58  and  in  1611,  he  gave  benevolences  twice  —  20.s. 
and  again,  £4,  to  "the  poore  dystressed  people  of  Leicester, 
.  .  ."59  His  successor,  the  Earl  Francis,  paid,  in  1620,  a 
like  benevolence  to  the  poor  of  St.  Martin's  parish,  that  being 
his  year's  gift;  quite  a  considerable  sum  for  one  annual  dole.60 

54  Peck,  op.  cit.,  22-23,  et  seq. 

55  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  406. 
6«76td.,  405. 

67  Ibid.,  406-407. 
454. 

476-477. 
523. 


192  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [466 

Somewhat  akin  to  the  small  alms  charities  —  quite  as  current, 
and  as  much  a  part  of  the  established  order  of  things,  was  the 
collation  of  broken  victual,  mussed  remnants  from  the  tables 
and  kitchens,  daily  apportioned  to  the  poor  without  the  gates  of 
great  households. 

In  the  Hall  or  Great  Chamber  of  a  nobleman's  castle,  where 
the  food  was  dispensed,  there  might  have  been  found,  presum- 
ably in  an  inconspicuous  place,  some  fashion  of  locked  boxes61 
or  caskes  known  as  the  ' '  almes  tubs. ' '  These  receptacles  were 
under  the  charge  of  the  Usher  and  Groom  of  the  Hall,  one  of 
whose  duties  was  to  see  to  it,  that  after  all  in  the  household  had 
dined,  the  remainder 62  of  meat  and  drink  was  safely  stowed 
therein  for  distribution  among  the  poor.  This  was  not  always 
a  simple  responsibility,  for  two  sorts  of  filching  rogues  lay  ever 
in  wait  to  thwart  so  charitable  a  purpose  —  other  servants  and 
the  dogs!  Of  the  former,  those  most  prone  to  this  knavish 
thieving  were  yeomen,  grooms  and  gentlemen's  men,  and,  so 
nimble  was  their  base  skill,  that  in  some  households  they  were 
under  compulsory  order  to  serve  without  their  cloaks,  and  in 
their  livery  coats  — ' '  for  so  were  they  the  easier  to  be  scene  if 
they  carried  forth  any  meate  that  they  ought  not  to  doe. ' ' 63 
The  canines  were  fully  as  clever,  and  despite  the  fact  that  all 
the  breeds,  prized  by  their  noble  owners  —  hounds,  grey-hounds 
and  spaniels,  were  supposed  to  be  kept  in  the  kennels  and  other 
out-places  suitable  for  them,  and  were  allowed  their  just  portion 
like  all  under  the  roof  —  in  they  would  sneak  to  snatch  a  tempt- 
ing morsel  from  an  unguarded  tub,  and  annoy  the  gentlemen 
dining  with  their  fighting.6*  The  groom  was  their  arch  enemy, 

ei  Howard  Household  BooTcs  (Collier),  228,  "Item,  for  a  lok  for  the 
almes  tobbe. " 

62  Royal  Household  Ordinances,  89-90.  ' '  ITEM,  It  is  appoynted  .  .  . 
that  the  seid  Almonere,  at  every  dynner  and  souper,  wayte  uppon  the  seid 
Duke's  table,  and  there  take  uppe  every  dishe  when  the  seid  Duke  hathe 
sette  it  from  hym,  and  thereof  to  make  sufficieyently  the  almes-dishe 
.  .  ."  Into  these  tubs  went  also,  in  the  olden  day,  soaked  trencher 
bread;  "The  auncient  use  was  not  to  allow  any  of  the  Earles  Servants,  sit- 
ting at  the  Officers  table,  or  at  other  bordes  in  the  Hall,  to  have  any 
trenchers  but  such  as  they  made  for  themselves  of  coarse  cheate,  which  was 
good  order  in  respect  of  the  helpe  it  was  towards  the  releefe  of  the  poore; 
but  now  it  is  not  liked  of  in  many  houses."  Brathwait,  pp.  22-23. 

ea /&«?.,  24. 

e*  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  22. 


467]  WORSHIP  AND   CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  193 

armed  with  a  whip  and  a  bell  "to.feare  them  away  withall."65 
When  a  howling  diversion  of  this  sort  was  always  on  the  boards, 
how  curious  seem  the  reiterated  injunctions  in  contemporary 
etiquette  books,  against  talk  during  dinner! 

While  the  alms-tubs  doubtless  furnished  the  greater  part  of 
the  food  daily  given  away  to  the  poor,  the  supply  was  augment- 
ed sometimes,  from  other  sources.  Thus,  in  the  Derby  house- 
hold the  bread  chippings  from  the  pantries  —  the  fees  of  ser- 
vitors there,  were  bought  up  by  the  earl  for  such  disposal,  and 
the  same  provision  was  made  regarding  the  beer  fees.66 

When  the  time  came  for  distributing  this  food  almes,  charge 
of  its  allotment  among  the  needy  was  given,  perhaps  to  the 
Almoner  or  Porter,67  or  to  the  Grooms  of  the  Hall,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  their  fellows  of  the  wood-yard,  all,  under  the  eye  of 
the  Usher  of  the  Hall.68  Nor  could  these  responsible  servitors 
themselves  always  be  trusted  to  resist  successfully  the  petty 
temptations  connected  with  this  work,  so  that  in  later  times  the 
Chaplain  was  bound  " .  .  .  often  to  goe  to  the  gate  to  see  the 
Vsher  and  groome  of  the  Hall  serve  the  poore,  that  those  which 
be  poore  in  deede  may  be  well  served,  and  idle  rogues  and  light 
huswives  from  thence  be  banished. ' ' 69  Indeed,  Brathwait  would 
even  have  some  of  the  chief  officers  in  superintendence,  declaring 
that  such  were  ".  .  .  not  the  worst,  but  rather  the  best  ser- 
vice that  he  could  doe  his  Lord ;  .  .  . "  70 

This  was  no  overnice  foresight.  These  food  doles  were  gen- 
erous, when  so  careful  a  manager  as  Burghley  daily  relieved 
from  twenty  to  thirty  indigent  souls  at  the  gates  of  Theobalds,71 
and  it  was  inevitable  that  so  rich  a  bait  should  draw  ne'er-do- 
well  vagabonds  into  the  bread  line.  In  fact,  a  nobleman's  castle, 
because  of  this  and  other  attractive  features,  always  proved  a 
tempting  field  for  the  sly  operations  of  idlers  and  wantons,  whose 
restless  presence  about  the  neighborhood  was  a  constant  source 
of  anxiety  to  the  noble  owner  and  his  officials  alike.  Folk  con- 
es Brathwait,  25. 
6«  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  21. 

67  Breviate,  Archaeologia  XIII,  333.     Also  Royal  Household  Ordinances, 
90. 

68  Brathwait,  24. 
69J6td.,  13. 

70  Ibid.,  24. 

71  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  23,  et  seq. 


194  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [468 

stantly  passed  in  and  out  of  the  gates,  so  that  stringent  pre- 
cautions had  always  to  be  observed  for  safe-guarding  the  prem- 
ises against  the  admittance  of  such  undesirable  characters. 

In  this  connection  the  porter's  office  was  a  post  of  strategic 
importance.  Selected  for  their  height  and  strength,72  like  po- 
licemen of  to-day,  the  prime  function  of  these  men  was  to 
".  .  .  waite  and  attend  dilygentlye  atte  the  gate;  and  atte 
the  leste  one  of  them  to  be  there,  and  see  tha  noe  vitaills,  silver 
plate,  pewter  vessells  ne  none  other  stuffe  of  the  seide  housholde, 
be  enbeselled  oute;  .  .  ."73  they  were  to  allow  ".  .  .  no 
rogues  and  idle  queanes  to  haunte  about  the  gate, ' ' 74  while  each 
porter  was  to  ' '  have  such  Regarde  to  his  Office  that  he  shall  not 
suffre  anie  to  come  wth  in  the  house  but  that  are  and  shall  be 
allowed  for  causes  necessarie  onles  they  be  servyng  men  or  oth- 
ers very  substantiall  by  discrecon. ' ' 75  When  country  folk 
craved  admittance  on  business  with  some  one  in  the  service,  or 
on  an  errand,  the  porters  held  them  at  the  gate,  or,  if  favorably 
impressed  by  their  appearance,  let  them  into  the  lodge,  whilst 
they  summoned  him  with  whom  the  strangers  would  deal.76 

"Trusties"  of  the  house,  gate  "sparring"  was  their  official 
work.  In  the  early  day  (1489)  the  Duke  of  Clarence  ordered 
his  gates  shut  in  summer,  before  ten  o'clock  P.M.,  and  opened  at 
five  in  the  morning,  " .  .  .  onlesse  then  they  have  other  com- 
mandement. ' ' 77  Later,  it  was  the  custom  to  lock  the  gates  be- 
fore dinner  and  supper,  and  likewise  before  prayers,  to  avoid 
noisy  interruption  and  busy-bodies,  while  they  were  closed  for 
the  night  ' '  when  it  groweth  darcke. ' ' 78 

However  carefully  these  warders  were  selected,  their  duties 
were  apt  to  grow  at  times,  a  lonesome,  tedious  service,  especially 
at  night,  and  like  that  bawling  rascal  at  Dunsinane,  who  ca- 
roused hilariously  till  the  second  cock  on  that  memorable  night, 
they  were  prone  to  mock  their  charges  with  their  drunken  snor- 
ing, at  the  expense  of  all  safety.  It  was  because  of  this  sottish 

*2 Brathwait,  45.     "They  should  be  men  tall  and  stronge." 

73  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  92. 

7*Brathwait,  46. 

7«  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  9. 

76  Breviate,  Archaeologia  XIII,  337. 

77  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  92. 

78  Breviate,  Archaeologia  XIII,  337. 


469]  WORSHIP  AND   CHARITY  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  195 

inclination  of  porters  in  general,  that  head  officers  in  a  house- 
hold, if  they  did  their  full  duty,  frequently  inspected  their 
lodges,  and  were  ordered,  like  those  in  the  household  of  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  in  1586  to  make  "a  weeklie  vewe  &  take  Ord' 
that  noe  vagrant  p'sons  or  maisterles  men  be  fostered  and  kept 
aboute  the  house  and  that  noe  household  S'vante  of  anye  degree 
bee  p'mitted  to  carie  forth  of  the  house  or  gates  any  mane'  of 
victualls  bread  or  drincke. ' ' 79 

Such  were  some  of  the  details  involved  partly  in  the  mainten- 
ance of  that  curious  institution  the  alms-tub ;  at  best,  one  fancies, 
with  its  nauseating  possibilities,  but  a  sorry  refection  for  the 
poor.  Nay,  but  it  flourished  and  lustily.  The  historian  Stow, 
eulogizing  the  late  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby,  particularly  com- 
mends him  for  his  generous  charity  ".  .  .  his  feeding,  espe- 
cially of  aged  persons,  twice  a  day,  sixty  and  odd;  besides  all 
comers  thrice  a  week,  appointed  for  his  dealing-day es.  .  ."80 
and  Edward,  and  the  noblemen  above  mentioned  were  not  unique 
in  this  charity ;  after  all,  your  starved  beggar  little  suffers  from 
a  delicate  taste;  he  revelled  in  his  reeking  paradise,  and  went 
his  hard  way  less  mindful  of  mis-hap  and  woe,  perhaps,  with 
muttered  grace  for  the  weal  of  the  rich  purveyor  of  his  greasy 
dinner. 

The  daily  food-alms  was  a  charity  relief  which  the  poor  and 
unfortunate  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  great  castle,  could  count 
upon  receiving  regularly.  In  addition,  occasion  rendered  them 
from  time  to  time,  special  objects  of  a  lord's  bounty.  All  merry 
festivals  saw  them  remembered,  and  particularly  the  joyous 
spirit  of  Christmas  brought  them  good  cheer.  For  twenty  years 
it  was  Lord  Burghley's  practice  to  lay  out,  at  that  season,  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  pounds  annually,  in  beef,  bread  and  money, 
for  the  poor  of  Westminster,  St.  Martin's,  St.  Clement's  and 
Theobalds.81  The  observance  too,  of  Passion  week  rites  dic- 
tated customs  which  threw  an  odd  relief  into  their  eager  hands. 
When  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  kept  Maundy  Thurs- 
day, he  gave  to  each  of  as  many  poor  men  as  he  was  years  old, 
and  to  one  other  for  the  year  coming,  a  wooden  platter  with  a 
cast  of  bread,  an  ashen  cup  with  wine,  and  a  leathern  purse, 


7»  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  22. 

so  Stow's  Chronicle,  Fol.  Ed.,  672. 

si  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  22,  et  seq. 


196  THE    HOUSEHOLD   OF    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [470 

with  a  penny  for  each  year  of  his  age,  and  an  extra  one  again, 
for  the  coming  year  —  a  fearful,  half-superstitious  grasping  of 
old  Time  by  the  fore-lock !  In  the  same  proportion,  grotes,  half- 
penny pieces  and  pennies  were  counted  out  by  one  of  the  house- 
hold chaplains  on  behalf  of  her  ladyship,  the  heir  of  the  house, 
and  the  younger  children,  respectively.  His  lordship's  meas- 
ured charity  further  included  clothing  —  to  each  of  the  lucky 
poor  men,  a  linen  shirt,  containing  two  and  one-half  yards  of 
cloth,  and  a  hooded  gown  of  russet,  made  out  of  three  and  one- 
half  yards  of  goods,  at  xij.d.  the  yard. 

Earl  Percy  conducted  his  part  of  this  ceremonial,  as  well  as 
the  other  services  of  the  day,  arrayed  in  a  sumptuous  gown  of 
violet  broad  cloth  handsomely  furred  with  seventy-five  black 
lamb  skins,  ".  .  .  And  after  his  Lordship  hath  don  his  ser- 
vice at  this  said  Maundy  doith  gyf  to  the  pourest  man  that  he 
fyndyth  as  he  thynkyth  emongs  them  all  the  said  Gowne. ' ' 82 
What  a  pathetic  triumph  —  like  a  mockery,  to  be  thus  heralded 
the  completest  pauper,  in  an  extravagant  piece  of  useless  finery 
—  yet,  what  fitter  service  for  the  ill-starred  purple  of  the  Prae- 
torium ! 

On  Good  Friday,  further,  it  was  customary  to  give  bread 
doles  to  the  poor,  —  thus,  in  April,  1522,  Sir  Henry  Willough- 
by's  baker  was  paid  v.s.,  the  cost  of  some  bread  so  used,83  while 

82  Northumberland  Household  Book,  354-356.     The  following  is  from  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine  for  April,   1731,  vol.   1,   171.      (Quoted  in  vol.   1, 
Brand 's  Popular  Antiquities') :     ' '  Thursday,  April  fifteenth,  being  Maundy 
Thursday,  there  was  distributid  at  the  Banquetting  House,  Whitehall,  to 
forty  eight  poor  men,  and  forty  eight  poor  women   (the  King's  age  forty 
eight)  boiled  beef,  and  shoulders  of  mutton,  and  small  bowles  of  ale,  which 
is  called  dinner;  after  that,  large  wooden  platters  of  fish  and  loaves,  viz. 
undressed,  one  large  old  ling,  and  one  large  dried  cod;  twelve  red  herrings, 
and  four  quarter  loaves.     Each  pesron  had  one  platter  of  this  provision; 
after  which  was  distributed  to  them  shoes,  stockings,  linen  and  woolen  cloth, 
and  leathern  bags,  with  one  penny,  two  penny,  three  penny  and  four  penny 
pieces  of  silver;  and  shillings;  to  each,  about  four  pounds  in  value.     His 
Grace,  the  Lord  Arch-Bishop  of  York,  Lord  High  Almoner,  performed  the 
annual  ceremony  of  washing  the  feet  of  certain  number  of  the  poor,  in  the 
Royal  Chapel,  Whitehall,  which  was  formerly  done  by  the  Kings  themselves, 
in  imitation  of  our  Saviour's  pattern  of  humility,  etc.     James  the  Second 
was  the  last  King  who  performed  this  in  person."     The  King's  Almoner 
still    distributes    Maundy -money    on    this    day.  —  Encyclop.    Diet.,    Art. 
"Maundy." 

83  MSS.  of  Lord  Middleton,  341. 


471]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  197 

Stow  chronicles,  to  the  everlasting  honour  of  Edward,  Earl  of 
Derby  the  ample  provision  made  by  that  nobleman  "everie 
Goode  Fridaie  these  thirty-five  years  (for)  one  with  another, 
2700,  with  meat,  drink,  money,  and  money  worth. ' ' 84  Perhaps, 
finally,  it  was  mighty  old  Death  himself,  who  wrought  a  chance 
.good  turn  for  these  famished  waifs  of  misfortune  and  failure; 
anguished  hearts  sought  solace  in  kindly  acts,  and  if  it  were 
but  to  provide  a  solemn  feast,  thereto,  in  haughty  contrition, 
inviting  these  luckless  dwellers  of  the  hedges  —  such,  for  them, 
were  a  rare,  but  at  least  a  full  repast ! 

On  October  29th,  1560,  the  "poor,"  in  gowns,  marched  two 
and  two,  in  the  great  funeral  procession  of  Francis  Talbot,  Earl 
of  Shrewsbury,  and  after  the  burial  they  shared  too  in  the  sad 
but  abundant  funeral  baked  meats:  "At  the  castle  was  pre- 
pared a  great  dinner,  that  is  to  say,  there  was  served  from  the 
dressers  (besides  my  Lord's  service  for  his  own  board,  which 
were  three  messes  of  meat)  cccxxx  mess,  to  all  manner  of  people, 
who  seemed  honest;  having,  to  every  mess,  eight  dishes;  that  is 
to  say,  two  boyled  mess,  four  roast,  and  two  baked  meats :  where- 
of one  was  venison,  for  there  was  killed  for  the  same  feast,  fifty 
does  and  twenty  nine  red  deere.  And  after  dinner,  the  rever- 
sion of  all  the  said  meate  was  given  to  the  poore,  with  dole  of 
two  pence  a  piece ;  with  bread  and  drink  great  plenty.  And  af- 
ter the  same  dinner  every  man  was  honourably  contented  for  his 
pains." 85  In  1543,  at  the  funeral  of  Thomas,  Earl  of  Rutland, 
x.s.x.d.,  was  distributed  as  a  special  alms  to  poor  people,  while 
one  Thomas  Tanfyld  was  paid  v.s.  for  "rydyng  abrood  to  dyvers 
townes  to  make  billes  of  poor  menes  names  to  take  almes  and 
helpyng  to  distribute  the  same. ' ' 86 

Yet  more  munificent  was  the  poor  relief  given  by  this  same 
household  in  1612,  in  pious  memory  of  the  late  Earl,  Roger, 
who  died,  July  22nd,  of  that  year.  On  the  day  of  the  funeral, 
two  beeves,  boiled  in  the  brew  house,  twenty-two  hogsheads  of 
beer,  ten  quarters  and  two  strike  (88  bushels)  of  wheat,  and  £30 
in  money  were  distributed  by  two  clergymen  with  assistants, 
while  on  the  following  Sunday,  bread  was  carried  to  such  "poore 
people  as  through  age  or  other  infirmitie  could  not  come  for  re- 

s*  Stow,  Chronicle,  Fol.  Ed.,  672. 

ss  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  255  et  seq. 

*«MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Butland,  4,  342-343. 


198  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [472 

leif e.  .  . ' ' 87  In  such  manner,  alike  the  regular  and  fitful 
charity  of  the  nobility  afforded  an  uncertain  existence  to  these 
wan  phantoms,  who,  true  children  of  fortune,  like  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  gleaned  a  hazardous  maintenance  where  chance  best 
afforded. 

Lastly,  nobles  under  the  old  Church,  and  to  some  extent,  after 
the  Reformation,  responded  many  times  in  the  course  of  a  year 
to  a  remarkable  number  of  petty  demands  upon  their  purses,  all, 
more  or  less  of  a  religious  nature. 

Every  special  festival  observed  meant  a  contribution.  The 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  customarily  gave  on  such  oc- 
casions xij.d.  himself,  allowing  his  wife  her  proportional  viij.d., 
while  his  heir  and  the  younger  children  were  supplied  with  cor- 
respondingly reduced  sums.  For  one  feast,  that  of  Easter  eve, 
ij.s.  was  also  given  to  each  ward  and  young  gentleman  at  his 
Grace's  "finding,"  for  his  offering.88  Frequently  these  small 
contributions  were  a  part  of  ceremonies  picturesque  and  curi- 
ously symbolical :  —  "  ITEM  My  Lordis  Offerynge  accustomede 
upon  Candilmas-Day  Yerely  To  be  sett  in  his  Lordschippis  Can- 
dill  to  offer  at  the  High  Mas  when  his  Lordschipp  is  at  home  V 
Groits  for  the  V  Joyes  of  Our  Lady  —  xxd."  The  offerings  of 
the  rest  of  the  family  both  on  this  feast  and  on  that  of  St. 
Blaise's  day  were  also  "set"  in  their  candles.  On  Good  Friday 
and  also  on  Easter  day,  "after  the  resurrection,"  it  was  given 
when  the  ' '  cross  was  crept. ' ' 89  While  the  occasions  for  special 

87 Mss.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  487.  This  was  a  universal  custom; 
see  ibid.,  342,  and  Mss.  of  Lord  Middleton,  473. 

ss  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  335. 

8»  The  following  is  a  description  of  the  manner  in  which  the  King  was 
accustomed  to  observe  this  ancient  ceremony,  — ' '  Firste,  the  Kinge  to  come 
to  the  Chappell  or  Closset,  withe  the  Lords,  and  Noblemen,  waytinge  upon 
him,  without  any  Sword  borne  before  hime  as  that  day:  And  ther  to 
tarrie  in  his  Travers  (i.e.  closet)  until  the  Byshope  and  the  Deane  have 
brought  in  the  Crucifixe  out  of  the  Vestrie,  and  layd  it  upon  the  Cushion 
before  the  highe  Alter.  And  then  the  Usher  to  lay  a  Carpett  for  the 
Kinge  to  Creepe  To  the  Crosse  upon."  Bishop  Percy's  note  in  the  North- 
umberland Household  Boole,  pp.  436-437.  It  is  quoted  from  "an  ancient 
Book  of  the  Ceremonial  of  the  Kings  of  England,"  and  the  Bishop  goes  on 
to  say  ".  .  .  in  1536,  when  the  Convocation  under  Hen.  VIII.  abolished 
some  of  the  old  superstitious  practices,  this  of  Creeping  to  the  Cross  on 
Good-Friday,  &c.  was  ordered  to  be  retained  as  a  laudable  and  edifying 
custom. ' ' 


473]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  199 

offerings  were  frequent,  the  sums  thus  given  in  this  household 
were  invariably  small,  amounting  in  the  course  of  an  entire 
twelve-month  to  little  more  than  £1  for  the  whole  family.90  The 
earl  further  laid  out  other  pittances  yearly,  each  recorded  in  de- 
tail with  his  usual  painstaking  accuracy  —  all  told,  a  matter  of 
some  forty  shillings.  Such  included  Shrine  gifts:  —  "ITEM, 
My  Lorde  usith  yerely  to  sende  afor  Mychealmas  for  his  Lords- 
chipe  Offeringe  to  the  Holy  Blode  of  Haillis  —  iiij.d. ' ' 91  Equal 
sums  were  sent  to  Our  Lady  of  Walsingham 92  and  St.  Mar- 
garet 's  in  Lincolnshire.93 

Also  a  part  of  this  same  were  the  costs  of  lights  maintained  by 
the  year  at  each  of  the  above  Shrines  and  one  " .  .  .  to  birne 
befor  our  Lady  in  the  Whit-Frers  of  Doncaster  of  my  Lordis 
f oundacion  at  every  Mas-tyme  daily  thorowout  the  Yere.  .  . " 94 
There  was  no  emotional  romance  or  dazed  piety  about  any  of 
this  procedure;  whatever  the  lights  stood  for  spiritually,  after 
all,  wax  was  wax,  and  his  lordship  paid  his  bounden  way  to 
righteousness  as  circumspectly  as  he  laid  in  his  food  supplies :  — 
"ITEM  My  Lord  usith  and  accustomyth  to  sende  yerely  for  the 
Upholdynge  of  the  Light  of  Waxe  which  his  Lordschip  fyndis 
byrnynge  yerely  befor  the  Holy  Bloude  of  Haillis  Containing 
xvj  Ib.  Wax  in  it  aftir  vij  d.  ob.  for  the  fyndynge  of  every  Ib. 
if  redy  wrought  By  a  Covenaunt  maide  by  gret  (i.e.  gross,  or  in 
bulk. )  with  the  Mounk  for  the  hole  Yere  for  fynding  of  the  said 

so  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  332-338. 

91  Ibid.,  337,  Bishop  Percy  notes  with  evident  satisfaction  "This  was  a 
pretended  Eelique  of  the  Blood  of  our  Saviour,  which  was  brought  from  the 
Holy  Land,  and  deposited  in  the  Monastery  of  Hales  in  Gloucestershire  by 
Edmund  Earl  of  Cornwall,  (son  of  Richard  King  of  the  Romans,  brother  of 
King  Henry  III.)     It  has  been  commonly  said  to  have  been  the  blood  of  a 
Duck  changed  every  week,     .     .     .     But  Hearne  has  printed  the  Report  of 
the  Commissioners,  who  were  sent  purposely  to  examine  it,  at  the  Dissolu- 
tion of  the  Monasteries;  and  it  plainly  appears  to  have  been  neither  more 
nor  less  than  CLARIFIED  HONEY,  'which  being  in  a  glasse,  appeared  to 
be  of  a  glisterynge  Redd  resemblynge  partly  the  color  of  Blod. '  " 

92  < '  The  famous  Image  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  preserved  in  the  Priory  of 
Black  Canons  at  Walsingham  in  Norfolk,  was  celebrated  all  over  Europe 
for  the  Great  Resort  of  Pilgrims  and  the  rich  offerings  made  to  it. "    Ibid., 
338. 

93  Northumberland  Household  Book,  332-338. 

94  Northumberland  Household  BooJc,  338. 


200  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [474 

Light  byrnynge —  x.s. "  95  Alas!  crisp  business  even  here,  a 
once  spontaneous  and  beautiful  oblation  gone  into  a  sort  of 
prayer-wheel  jig,  estimated  by  rote  and  bought  at  a  bargain ! 
His  Grace,  be  it  .said  to  his  credit,  "rewarded"  the  monk,  canon 
and  priest  who  attended  to  his  candles  at  these  honoured  Shrines, 
with  iij.s:xij.d.,  and  iij.s  :iiij.d.  respectively,  per  annum.96  He 
also  opened  his  heart  once  a  year  to  the  Prior  of  the  White 
Friars  of  Doncaster,  presenting  him  regularly  with  xx.s. 
".  .  .  toward  the  byeynge  of  ther  Store  agaynst  the  Advent 
bef or  Christynmas. ' ' 97 

The  earl  might  be  liable  too  for  a  yearly  assessment  of  about 
26s  :8d.  contingent  upon  his  membership  and  that  of  his  lady 
and  his  heir  in  St.  Christopher's  Guild,  of  York,  for  their 
brother-  and  sisterhood;  and  for  a  like  relationship  for  himself 
and  his  wife  in  the  religious  House  of  "Saynt  Roberts  of  Knas- 
brughe. ' '  This  membership  fee  was  given  to  the  first  organiza- 
tion ".  .  .  At  such  tyme  as  the  Masters  of  the  said  Saynt 
Cristofer  Gild  of  York  bringis  my  Lord  and  my  Lady  for  their 
Lyverays  a  Yarde  of  Narrow,  Violette  Cloth  and  a  Yerde  of 
Narow  Rayd  Cloth."98 

Offerings  and  gifts  similar  to  these  and  very  many  others  were 
made  by  all  of  the  Tudor  Nobles.  Lord  John  Howard,  1st 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  was  very  precise  with  his  contributions  at 
Church,  whether  he  were  home,  at  Stoke,99  or  elsewhere  —  Lon- 
don, "Westminster,  Colchester,  Durham,  Norwich  —  whither  so- 
ever business  or  pleasure  carried  him.100  He  visited  at  different 
times  the  famous  Shrines  of  his  day,  like  Walsingham,101  or  St. 
Edmund's  Bury,102  at  which  latter  place  an  additional  8.d.  wras 
once  paid  "for  to  make  a  tabyr  bef  or  Seynt  Edmond. "  Lady 
Howard  likewise  offered  to  Our  Lady  of  "Walsingham,  giving 
once  also,  6.d.  "for  a  potel  of  oyle  to  the  lampe"  and  6.d.  more 
for  a  pound  of  wax.103  His  lordship  maintained  his  lamp  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas  at  Colchester  and  had  his  involved 

96  Ibid.,  338. 

wlbid.,  341-342. 

87  Ibid.,  339. 

»s  Northumberland  Household  Book,  347-348. 

ea  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  106,  117,  140,  144,  153,  etc. 

100  Ibid.,  132,  180,  181,  223,  341,  342,  448,  etc. 

101  Ibid,  (in  order  to  No.  109),  448,  339,  449,  49,  149-150,  359,  360,  447, 
etc.,  163,  169,  176,  199,  222,  432  and  160. 


475]  WORSHIP  AND  CHARITY  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  201 

"reckonings"  with  William  Mannj  sexton,  over  the  oil  and  wax 
bills.104  He  made  payments  to  friars,105  donated  to  poor  pris- 
oners in  the  Castle  at  Colchester,100  paid  for  special  masses  and 
shrivings,107  contributed  to  lazars,  and  regularly,  to  the  pious 
support  of  one  Harry  Elyse,  a  "gentleman  Hermit,"108  and  he 
once  laid  out  the  rather  handsome  sum  of  21s.  "for  dressing  of 
the  roode  at  Dover  courte  with  XXX  sterys  of  gold,  prise  viij.d. 
a  piece."109 

The  Earls  of  Rutland,  in  the  earlier  day  paid  "rewards"  to 
St.  Ann's  Guild  at  Warden  Abbey,110  to  the  aldermen  of  the 
Guild  of  Our  Lady  at  Boston,111  purchased  anniversary  masses 
from  the  Prior  and  Convent  of  Holywell,112  paid  for  lamp  main- 
tenance,113 and  the  usual  Shrine  and  Rood  offerings.114 

Money  was  similarly  expended  by  the  Willoughbys  at  Walla- 
ton,  while,  in  addition,  small  sums  were  given  from  time  to  time 
to  pardoners,115  friars  and  others,  on  pilgrimages  to  St.  Michael's 
Mount,  or  other  like  venerated  shrines,118  to  a  "female  anchor- 
ite,"117 to  women  collecting  for  a  votive  lamp  maintenance,118 
to  "gatherers"  for  bridge  repair,  one  such  structure  being  Our 
Lady  Bridge  at  Tomworth,119  which  name  suggests  that  its  up- 
keep was  a  pious  duty,  —  in  fact  to  scores  and  scores  of  such 
' '  good  works, ' '  small  aids  were  continually  given. 

In  conclusion,  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  behalf  of  the  re- 
ligious life  fostered  by  these  old  Tudor  Nobles.  It  is  no  niggard 
truth  that  such  a  life  did  prosper  in  every  household,  under  an 
ample,  if  at  times,  a  compulsory  patronage.  Often  cherished 
and  sustained,  primarily,  perhaps,  for  a  utilitarian  purpose,  it 
grew,  a  well  nurtured  plant,  to  frequent  flower  in  kindly  charity 
and  sympathetic  feeling  for  God's  little  ones.  Small  considera- 
tion has  been  paid  here  to  the  more  pretentious  foundations 
which  noblemen  often  supported,  but  in  so  hasty  a  survey  of 
their  humbler  good  works  even,  the  spirit  prompting  to  such 
very  constant  responsiveness  is  impressive.  Their  gifts  were 
frequently  petty,  nay,  pitifully  ungenerous  and  mechanical,  but 
often,  on  the  other  hand,  they  evidence  a  spontaneous  heartiness, 
which  warms  one  to  this  very  day.  The  point  again  is,  that  they 
did  give! 

™>Mss.  of  Duke  of  Rutland,  4  (in  order  to  114),  272,  275,  282. 
us  Mss.  of  Lord  Middleton  (in  order  to  119),  342,  348,  354,  335,  351, 
384,  349,  384,  335,  376,  386,  etc. 


CHAPTER  IX 
MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

Bassiolo.     Stand  by  there,  make  place. 
Lasso.     Sale  now,  Bassiolo,  you  on  whom  relies 

The  generall  disposition  of  my  house 

In  this  our  general  preparation  for  the  Duke, 

Are  all  our  officers  at  large  instructed 

For  fit  discharge  of  their  peculiar  places? 
Bas.     At  large,  my  lord,  instructed. 
Las.     Are  all  our  chambers  hung?     Thinke  yow  our  house 

Amplie  capacious  to  lodge  all  the  traine? 
Bas.     Amply  capacious,  I  am  passing  glad. 

—  Chapman  —  "The  Gentleman  Usher."  Act.  1,  Sc.  2. 

In  addition  to  the  branches  of  household  service  described 
thus  far  there  were  other  departments  in  every  great  establish- 
ment, whose  proper  operation  was  relatively  as  important  as  was 
that  of  any  already  considered.  To  begin  with,  the  bed-chamber 
service.  Most  of  the  members  of  a  household,  of  course  and  com- 
monly, many  guests  as  well,  had  to  be  accommodated  at  night 
with  properly  equipped  sleeping  quarters.  This  urgent  need 
for  plenty  of  lodging  room,  accounts  for  the  numerous  chambers 
in  the  castles  of  noblemen,  by  far  the  greater  number  of  their 
apartments  being  lodgings.  Leekinfield,  for  example  —  one  of 
the  castles  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  —  certainly  no 
extraordinary  dwelling,  had  more  than  forty  chambers  or  bed- 
rooms ; 1  and  Sir  John  Fastolf  's  Castle  at  Caister  had  at  least 
twenty-eight  sleeping  apartments.2  Now  the  care  of  the  bed- 
rooms, with  the  custody  of  the  necessary  bedding  and  linens,  to- 
gether commonly,  with  all  the  arras  and  tapestry  in  an  estab- 
lishment, was  entrusted  to  the  Yeomen  and  Grooms  of  the  Ward- 
robe of  Beds,  as  the  office  was  called.  Under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  the  Gentlemen  Ushers,  they  attended  to  the  mending  and 

1  Northumberland  Household  Book,  463-464. 

2  Inventory  of  the  effects,  etc.,  Archaeologia,  XXI,  261  et  seq. 

202 


477]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  203 

repairing  of  any  of  their  stuff  when,  it  was  necessary,  for  which 
purpose  the  Yeomen,  or  one  of  them,  had  often  to  ".  .  .  goe 
through  the  chambers  both  of  gentelmen,  yeomen,  and  groomes, 
and  if  he  finde  either  wrentes  or  holes  in  their  beddings  or  furni- 
ture, that  the  same  may  be  amended ;  for  a  littell  labour  done  in 
due  time  will  save  from  much  losse,  which  want  of  looking  to 
will  cause  to  happen.  .  ." 3  They  also  issued  out  bedding  as 
needed,  and  of  course,  looked  after  all  stuffs,  linens  and  other, 
not  in  use.  Their  supplies  were  kept  in  neatly  equipped  ward 
rooms,  fitted  out  with  the  necessary  drawers,  shelves  and  presses, 
and  with  ".  .  .  chimney  therein,  that  such  household  furni- 
ture as  is  not  often  used  may  therat  be  well  aired. ' '  *  Every 
Yeoman  was  enjoined  to  see  ".  .  .  as  occasion  serveth,  that 
all  his  beddes,  bolesters,  and  pillowes,  with  all  the  rest  of  the 
furniture  for  beddinge,  be  airede,  and  beaten,  and  that  there 
bee  noe  duste  in  them,  nether  any  mothes  bredde,  which  both  is 
a  greate  spoile  to  stuffe,  but  in  that  case  dried  wormewode  is 
very  good,  and  ofte  turninge  and  airinge  as  abovesaide."  5 

Akin  in  occupation  to  these  servitors  were  their  fellows  of  the 
bed-chambers,  whose  labour  was  probably  more  skilled,  however, 
because  they  were  entrusted  with  the  care  of  the  clothing  of  the 
lord,  and  that  of  his  family,  much  of  which  was  exceedingly  rich 
and  very  costly.  Richard  Brathwait  well  describes  them  and 
their  functions  in  this  wise :  ' '  They  should  be  men  brought  up 
at  Tailors  occupation,  that  if  ther  be  any  thing  amisse  in  the 
Earle  or  Ladies  garments,  they  may  be  able  to  mend  the  same; 
skillful  to  brushe  and  rubb  over,  not  onely  garments  of  cloth, 
velvet,  and  silkes,  but  also  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  and  also  in 
what  sorte  to  foulde  and  lay  up  the  same:  they  are  to  have  a 
chimney  in  their  Warderobe  for  ayringe  of  apparell.  Their 
warderobe  must  be  furnished  with  standerts,  Tronkes,  Presses, 
brushing-tables,  linnen  cloathes,  Buckerams,  and  peeces  of  Sar- 
cenet, to  cover  and  carry  garments  in;  which  warderobe  they 
must  be  passing  carefull  to  keepe  very  cleane,  and  to  see  that  all 
things  therin  be  placed  in  decent  order. ' ' 6 

In  the  household  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  the  Yeo- 

s  Brathwait,  27. 
*  Ibid.,  27. 
s  Breviate,  334-335. 
e  Brathwait,  27. 


204  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [478 

man  entrusted  with  the  care  of  his  Grace's  clothing  probably 
made  up  materials  also.  He  was  paid  13s.4d.,  by  the  year, 
".  .  .  for  fyndynge  of  all  maner  of  Threde  belongynge 
the  Sewyng  of  all  manor  of  Stuf  \vhich  is  shapen  and  cutt  in 
my  Lordis  Wardrob  as  well  concernynge  my  Lorde  my  Lady 
my  Lordis  Children  As  thos  which  ar  at  my  Lords  fynd- 
ynge. .  ,"7 

Both  sets  of  servants  had  to  keep  their  inventories  of  stuff, 
noting  down  carefully,  everything  which  was  at  hand  and  its 
condition ;  what  was  actually  worn  out,  and  all  the  new  materials 
coming  in;  furthermore,  each  year,  when  accounts  were  taken, 
which  process,  as  noted  already,  included  a  general  invoicing  of 
all  stock  in  hand,  these  servants  of  the  ward-robe  of  beds,  and 
of  the  bed-rooms,  had  likewise  to  fetch  out  all  their  goods,  have 
them  accounted,  and  then  return  them  to  their  places.8 

In  addition  to  these  duties,  the  ward-robe  men  cleaned  their 
ward-robes,  the  bed-chambers  and  the  galleries.  How  exacting 
and  troublesome  much  of  the  work  of  both  these  sets  of  servants 
was,  appears  upon  a  consideration  of  the  quality  and  amount  of 
materials  in  their  respective  ward-robes,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  chambers,  and  especially  the  beds,  were  fitted  out  for 
use. 

In  Sir  John  Fastolfe's  mansion  at  Caister,  all  of  the  sleeping 
rooms  but  four,  had  their  feather  beds,  bolsters,  blankets  and 
sheets,  and  even  the  four  rooms  not  quite  so  completely  equipped, 
two  of  which  chambers  were  in  the  stables,  had  their  mattresses, 
sheets  and  coverlets,  of  "blewe  and  rede."  A  complete  picture 
of  "My  Maister  is  Chamber"  is  called  up  by  the  following  list 
of  its  one  time  contents: 

"In  primis,  j  Pedderbedde.  —  Item  j  Donge  (i.e.  mattress)  of 
fyne  blewe. 

' '  Item,  j  Bolster.  —  Item  ij  Blankettys  of  fustians. 

' '  Item,  j  payre  of  Shetis.  —  Item  j  Purpeynt. 

"Item,  j  hangyd  Bedde  of  arras.  —  Item  j  Testour.  —  Item,  j 
Selour  (a  covering  for  a  seat  or  stool). 

"Item,  j  Coveryng. 

' '  Item,  iij  Curtaynes  of  grene  worsted. 

"Item,  j  Bankeur  of  tapestre  warke. 

7  Northumberland  Household  Book,  349. 
s  Ibid.,  365. 


479]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  205 

' '  Item,  iiij  peces  of  Hangyng  of  gcene  worsted. 

' '  Item,  j  Banker  hangyng  tapestry  worke.  —  Item,  j  Cobbord 
Clothe. 

"Item,  ij  staundyng  Aundyris. —  Item,  j  Fedderflok  (i.e. 
Feather-bed): 

"Item,  j  Chafern  of  laten.  —  Item,  j  payre  of  Tongys. 

' '  Item,  j  payre  of  Bellewes.  —  Item,  j  litell  Paylet.  —  Item  i j 
Blankettys. 

' '  Item,  j  payre  of  Schetys.  —  Item,  j  Coverlet. 

' '  Item,  vi  White  Cosschynes.  —  Item,  ij  Lytell  Bellys. 

' '  Item,  j  f oldyng  Table.  —  Item,  j  longe  Chayre.  —  Item,  j 
grene  Chayre. 

' '  Item,  j  hangyng  Candylstyk  of  laton. ' ' 

Interesting  enough  also,  is  the  enumeration  of  the  articles  once 
in  the  chamber  of  Milicent  Fastolf e,  Sir  John 's  wife :  — 

"In  primis,  j  Fedder  Bedde.  —  Item,  j  Bolster.  —  Item,  j 
Materas. 

' '  Item,  j  Quelte.  —  Item,  smale  Pyllowes  of  downe. 

"Item,  j  honged  Bedde  of  fyne  whyte.  —  Item,  ij  smale  Pay- 
letts. 

' '  Item,  j  rede  Coverlet.  —  Item,  j  leddre  Pyllewe.  —  Item,  j 
Basyn. 

"Item,  j  Ewer.  —  Item,  ij  Pottys. 

"Item,  ij  lyttyll  Ewers  of  blew  glasses  powdered  withe  golde." 

Several  of  the  chambers  were  more  elaborately  equipped  than 
either  of  the  above  —  that  of  Sir  Robert  Inglose,  for  example, 
with  its  pillows  of  down  and  lavender,  cushions  of  red  silk  and 
red  saye,  fine  arras  cloth,  furred  counterpayne,  tester,  and  green 
carpet.  Even  the  cook,  in  that  remarkable  old  house  was  al- 
lowed his  feather-bed,  two  sheets,  and  a  red  coverlet  of  roses  and 
blood-hounds'  heads! 

Besides  all  this  stuff  regularly  in  use,  Sir  John's  ward-robes 
were  richly  stored  with  quantities  of  fine  goods  —  all  manner  of 
bedding,  arras  and  tapestries.  Among  the  items  set  down  in  the 
careful  inventory  are  no  less  than  thirty-three  pillows  of  many 
sizes  and  materials  —  five  of  green  silk,  two  of  red  velvet  beaten 
upon  satin,  one  of  purple  silk  and  gold,  and  several  both  of 
fustian  and  linen.  Other  sorts  of  bedding  matched  the  pillows 
in  elegance:  —  "J  Cover  of  grene  silke  to  a  bedde,  lyned  with 
blewe  silke.  —  Item,  j  close  Bedde  of  palle  grene  and  whyte, 


206  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [480 

with  levys  of  golde.  Item,  j  Donge  (i.e.  feather-bed)  of  purle 
sylke,"  etc.,  all  of  which  must  have  been  very  splendid. 

The  supplies  of  arras  cloth  for  hangings,  bed  dressing,  testers, 
covers,  selers  (furnishings,  probably  for  bed-heads)  dais  and 
benches,  contained  many  elaborate  and  interesting  pieces,  espe- 
cially the  following,  among  them  —  One  cloth  of  arras,  called  the 
"Shepherds  Cloth,"  one,  of  the  Assumption  of  Our  Lady,  one, 
"for  the  nether  hall"  ".  .  .  with  a  gey  aunt  (giant)  in  the 
myddell  beryng  a  legge  of  a  bere  in  his  honde. "  and  one,  for 
the  west  side  of  the  Hall,  of  the  Siege  of  Falaise.  The  dais  in 
the  same  Hall  had  its  cloth  with  ".  .  .  j  wodewose  (wild- 
man)  and  j  chylde  in  his  armys."  One  cloth  of  arras  showed 
".  .  .  iij  archowrys  on  scheting  a  doke  in  the  water  withe  a 
crosse  bo  we,"  while  anothed  displayed  ".  .  .  a  gentlewoman 
harpyng  by  j  castell  in  myddys  of  the  clothe."  A  bed  cov- 
ering pictured  ".  .  .  hontyng  of  the  bore,  a  man  in  blewe 
with  a  jagged  hoode  white  and  rede,"  etc. 

Completing  the  long  list  of  materials  on  hand,  ' '  Canvas  in  the 
Warderop  and  fyne  Lynen  Clothe  of  dyvers  sortes"  captions  an 
enumeration  of  some  forty  odd  pieces,  several  of  which  were 
very  long,  one  alone  being  sixty  yards  in  length,  and  not  one  of 
them  under  eight  yards;  the  entire  lot,  not  including  several 
pieces  the  measurements  of  which  were  not  recorded,  totalled 
well  over  one  thousand  yards  of  material.9 

Making  up  the  beds,  and  particularly  that  of  the  master  of  the 
household,  was  by  no  means  the  least  of  the  work  of  the  Yeoman 
and  Groom  of  the  ward-robe  of  beds.  Contemporary  direction 
about  so  important  a  matter,  set  down  for  certain  of  the  ser- 
vants of  King  Henry  the  8th,  describes  an  intricate  and  an 
exacting  process  charged  with  ceremony  and  elaborate  detail,  to 
vex  any  but  those  born  to  the  cloth,  — 

"Furste  a  groome  or  a  page  to  take  a  torche  &  to  goo  to  the 
warderobe  of  the  kynges  bedd,  &  bryng  theym  of  the  warderobe 
with  the  kynges  stuff  unto  the  chambr  for  makyng  of  the  same 
bedde.  —  Where  as  ought  to  be  a  gentylman-usher,  iiij  yeomen 
of  the  chambr  for  to  make  the  same  bedde.  The  groome  to 
stan.de  at  the  bedds  f eete  with  his  torche.  —  They  of  the  warde- 
robe opennyng  the  kinges  stuff  of  hys  bedde  upon  a  fayre  sheete 

» Inventory  of  effects,  etc.,  Archaeologia  XXI,  232  et  seq. 


481]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  207 

bytwen  the  stayde  groome  &  the  bedds  fote,  iij  yeomen  or  two  at 
the  leste  in  every  syde  of  the  bedde.  The  gentylman  usher  and 
parte  commaundyng  theym  what  they  shall  doo.  —  A  yoman 
with  a  dagger  to  searche  the  strawe  of  the  kynges  bedde  that 
there  be  none  untreuth  therin.  —  And  this  yeoman  to  caste  up 
the  bedde  of  downe  upon  that,  &  oon  of  theym  to  tomble  over  yt 
for  the  serche  thereof.  Then  they  to  bete  and  tufte  the  sayde 
bedde,  &  to  laye  oon  then  the  bolster  without  touchyng  of  the 
bedd,  where  as  it  aught  to  lye.  Then  they  are  warderobe  to  de- 
lyver  theym  a  fustyan  takyng  the  saye  therof .  All  theys  yomen 
to  laye  theyr  hands  theron  at  oones,  that  they  touch  not  the 
bedd,  tyll  yt  be  layed  as  it  sholde  be  by  the  comaundement  of 
the  ussher.  —  And  so  the  furste  sheet  in  lyke  wyse,  and  then  to 
trusse  in  both  .sheete  &  fustyan  rownde  about  the  bedd  of  downe. 
The  warderoper  to  delyver  the  second  sheete  unto  two  yeomen, 
they  to  crosse  it  over  theyr  arme,  and  to  stryke  (stroke)  the 
bedde  as  the  ussher  shall  more  playnly  shewe  un  to  theym.  Then 
every  yoman  layeing  hande  upon  the  sheete  to  laye  the  same 
sheete  upon  the  bedde.  And  so  the  other  fustyan  upon  or  ij 
•with  suche  coverynge  as  shall  content  the  kynge.  Thus  doon 
the  ij  yoman  next  to  the  bedde  to  laye  down  agene  the  overmore 
fustyan,  the  yomen  of  the  warderobe  delyverynge  theyme  a  pane 
sheete,  the  sayde  yoman  therewythall  to  cover  the  sayde  bedde: 
And  so  then  to  laye  down  the  overmost  sheete  from  the  beddes 
heed.  And  then  the  sayd  ij  yomen  to  laye  all  the  overmost 
clothes  of  a  quarter  of  the  bedde.  Then  the  warderoper  to  de- 
lyver unto  theym  such  pyllowes  as  shall  please  the  kynge.  The 
sayd  yoman  to  laye  theym  upon  the  bolster  and  the  heed  sheet 
with  whych  the  sayde  yoman  shall  cover  the  sayd  pyllowes.  And 
so  to  trusse  the  endes  of  the  saide  sheete  under  every  end  of  the 
bolster.  And  then  the  sayd  warderoper  to  delyver  unto  them 
ij  lytle  small  pyllowes  wherwythall  the  squyres  fo  rthe  bodye  or 
gentylman  ussher  shall  give  the  saye  to  the  warderoper,  and  to 
the  yoman  wyche  have  layde  on  hande  upon  the  sayd  bedde. 
And  then  the  sayd  ij  yomen  to  laye  upon  the  sayde  bedde  to- 
ward the  bolster  as  yt  was  bifore.  They  makyng  a  crosse  and 
kissynge  yt  where  there  handes  were.  Then  ij  yomen  next  to 
the  sheete  to  make  the  feers,  as  the  ussher  shall  teche  theym. 
And  so  then  every  of  them  sticke  up  the  aungell  about  the  bedde, 
and  to  lette  downe  the  corteyns  of  the  sayd  bedde  or  sparver. 


208  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [482 

Item,  a  squyer  for  the  bodye  or  gentylman-ussher  aught  to  sett 
the  kynges  sword  at  hys  beddes  heede. 

Item,  a  squyer  for  the  bodye  aught  to  charge  a  secret  groome 
or  page  to  have  the  kepynge  of  the  sayde  bedde  with  a  lyght 
unto  the  tyme  the  kynge,  be  disposed  to  goo  to  yt. 

Item,  a  groome  or  a  page  aught  to  take  a  torche  whyle  the 
bedde  ys  yn  makyng  to  fetche  a  loofe  of  brede,  a  pot  with  ale,  a 
pott  wyth  wine  for  theym  that  maketh  the  bedde,  and  every  man. 

Item,  the  gentylman-ussher  aught  to  forbede  that  no  manner 
of  man  do  sett  eny  dysshe  uppon  the  kynge 's  bedde  for  fere  of 
hurtyng  of  the  kynge 's  ryche  counterpoynt  that  lyeth  therupon. 
And  that  the  sayd  ussher  take  goode  heede,  that  noo  man  wipe 
or  rubbe  their  handes  uppon  none  arras  of  the  kynges,  wherby 
they  myght  bee  hurted,  in  the  chambr  where  the  kynge  ys  spec- 
ially, and  in  all  other. ' ' 10 

It  is  very  probable,  from  the  great  similarity  between  the 
royal  household  and  the  establishments  of  the  nobility,  that  some 
such  elaborate  ceremony  as  this  for  making  the  king's  bed,  was 
in  vogue  in  their  households,  especially  on  state  occasions.  Even 
the  gentry  in  the  England  of  the  Tudors,  owned  nicely  equipped 
beds.  Thus,  one  John  Amet  the  elder,  cutler  and  citizen  of 
London,  through  his  will,  dated  1473,  "bequeathes  to  his  sister 
Margaret  the  bed  in  his  chamber,  'hoole  as  it  is,  that  is  to  saye, 
feder  bedde,  matras,  bolster,  pyllowes,  blankettis,  sheteis,  cover- 
let, quylte,  tester,  and  three  curtyns,  iij  payer  of  my  beste  sheteis 
and  ij  coverlettis,  besyde  that  that  lyeth  on  my  bedde'."11 

Finally,  the  polite  lodging  of  guests,  as  set  forth  in  another 
contemporary  already  quoted  illustrates  still  another  function 
of  these  ward-robe  servitors.  After  describing  the  details  of  the 
dinner  service,  the  account  goes  on:  "Thenne  it  moste  be  sene 
yf  strangers  shalbe  brought  to  chamber,  and  that  the  chamber 
be  clenly  appareld  and  dressed  according  to  the  tyme  of  the 
yere,  as  in  wynter-tyme,  fyre,  in  somur  tyme  the  bedd  couerd 
with  pylawes  and  hedde-shetys  in  case  they  wolle  rest,  and  after 
this  done,  they  moste  have  chere  of  neweltees  in  the  chamber,  as 

10  The  ceremonial  of  making   the  King's  bed.     Ardiaeologia  IV,   311 
et  seq. 

11  Italian  Relation  of  England,  Camden  Society ;  contains  a  description 
of  the  ceremonial  for  making  the  King's  bed,  as  drawn  up  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  7th. 


483]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  209 

luncate,  cheryes,  pepyns,  and  such  neweltees  as  the  tyme  of  yere 
requereth;  or  ellis  grene  ginger  comfetts,  with  such  thynge  as 
wynter  requereth ;  and  swete  wynes,  as  ypoerasse,  Tyre,  musca- 
dell,  bastard  vernage,  of  the  beste  that  may  be  had,  to  the  honour 
and  lawde  of  the  principall  of  the  house."  12 

These  duties  also,  were  carried  out  under  the  eyes  of  those 
dexterous  servants,  many  of  whose  functions  have  already  been 
considered  —  the  Gentlemen  Ushers;  in  the  words  of  Brath- 
wait  ".  .  .  They  are  often  to  goe  into  the  warderobe  of 
beddes,  to  see  that  all  household  furniture  be  safe  and  orderly 
kept;  likewise  into  the  Lodgings  appointed  for  strangers,  that 
they  be  cleanely  and  sweete  kept,  and  all  thinges  in  them  neces- 
sarie  and  convenient.  .  .  If  Earles  or  great  Lordes  come  to 
lodge  ther,  one  of  the  gentleman  Vshers  is  to  attend  them  to  their 
chambers,  and  during  their  aboade  to  see  their  Liveries  and 
breakefastes  orderly  served:  ...  If  ther  be  Knightes  or 
gentlemen  of  like  qualitye,  they  must  appointe  some  yeomen 
waiters  of  good  experience,  in  like  sorte  to  attend  upon  them." 13 

The  inventories  of  the  ward-robe  stuff  of  a  Tudor  nobleman 
will  likewise  suffice  to  convince  any  patient  reader  of  to-day, 
that  the  office  of  the  ward-robe,  like  that  of  the  ward-robe  of 
beds,  was  no  sinecure.  Fancy  the  work  involved  in  properly 
caring  for  the  following  rich  clothing  and  harness  formerly  be- 
longing to  his  Grace,  Henry,  Earl  of  Stafford  — 

"A  gowne  of  clothe  of  tyssue,  lyned  with  crymsyn  satyn. 

A  gowne  of  russet  tynsell,  furred  with  black  buggy. 

A  gowne  of  whyte  damaske  clothe  of  gold,  lyned  with  crynsyn 
velvet. 

A  gowne  of  crynsyn  velvet,  lyned  with  damaske  cloth  of  gold. 

A  gowne  of  whyte  sylver,  lyned  with  crynsyn  velvet. 

12  Manners  and  Meals  in  Olden  Time,  Early  Eng.  Text  Soc.,  ed.  Furni- 
vall,  Part  3,  373.     Furnivall  says  in  a  note  to  this  part  of  the  piece  —  "I 
do  not  suppose  that  each  guest  retired  to  his  own  bed-room,  but  to  the  gen- 
eral with-drawing  room,  —  possibly  used  as  a  general  bed-room  also,  when 
the  Hall  had  ceased  to  be  it.     'The  Camera  usually  contained  a  bed,  and 
the  ordinary  furniture  of  a  bed-chamber;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  it 
still  answered  the  purpose  of  a  parlour  or  sitting-room,  the  bed  being  cov- 
ered over  during  the  daytime  with  a  handsome  coverlid,  as  is  still  the  cus- 
tom in  France  and  other  foreign  countries  to  this  day. '  —  Domestic  Archi- 
tecture, iii,  94-5." 

13  Brathwait,  11. 


210  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [484 

A  gowne  of  greene  velvet,  lyned  with  grene  satyn  all  through. 

A  gowne  of  taffita  velvet,  lyned  with  wright  black  satyn ;  the 
forent,  the  cap,  and  the  hynder  parte,  with  black  sarcenet. 

A  gowne  of  black  velvet,  olde,  lyned  with  tawny  satyn  through, 
and  garded  about  with  a  broad  yarde  of  velvet. 

A  gowne  of  black  velvet,  furred  with  fyne  black  buggie;  the 
cap,  the  forf  ront,  and  the  resydue  with  black  lambe. 

A  gowne  of  russet  velvett,  velvet  upon  velvet,  furred  with 
black  buggy  all  through. 

A  gowne  of  tawny  velvet,  furred  with  ribands  all  through. 

A  gowne  of  cloth  of  russett  satyn,  complete  unmade. 

A  gowne  of  cloth  of  black  satyn,  complete  unmade,  with  a 
cape  to  the  same. 

A  lyninge  of  black  sarcynet,  with  ij.  pieces  to  the  same. 

A  hole  lyninge,  for  a  gowne  of  whyte  satyn. 

A  cote  of  cloth  of  tyssue,  with  di.  sleeves,  and  a  placard  to  the 
same. 

A  cote  of  damaske  cloth  of  gold,  with  sleeves  and  placard 
therto. 

A  cote  of  purple  velvet,  embroidered  with  damask  cloth  of 
gold. 

A  cote  of  greene  satyn,  quylted  and  lettred  with  embroidered 
worke,  placard  and  sleeves  to  the  same,  lackinge  a  faire  boddy. 

A  cote  of  greene  velvet,  with  ij.  .  .  sleeves,  and  placard 
therto. 

A  jacket,  satin,  cloked  with  damaske  cloth  of  gold,  with  half 
placard  to  the  same. 

A  frocked  jacket  of  crymsyn  satyn  and  cloth  of  sylver,  and 
underlayd  Avith  cloth  of  tyssue  and  crymsyn  satyn. 

A  jackett  of  greene  tynsell,  lyned  all  through  with  greene  sar- 
cenet, and  placard. 

A  frocke  of  crymsyn,  welted  with  cloth  of  gold. 

A  frocke  of  black  velvet,  with  ij  welts  of  clothe  of  gold. 

A  dublet  of  cloth  of  tyssue,  lyned  through  with  blacke  sarcenet, 
with  a  placard  to  the  same. 

A  dublet  of  cloth  of  sylver,  lyned  through  and  underlayd  with 
damaske  cloth  of  gold,  and  lyned  with  whyte  sarcenet  through, 
with  a  placard. 

A  dublet  of  greene  damaske  clothe  of  golde,  lyned  with  greene 
sarcenet  through,  and  a  placarde  to  the  same. 


485]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  211 

A  dublet  of  blewe  tynsell,  with  a'  placard  to  the  same. 

A  dublet  of  blacke  satyn,  with  a  placard  and  foresleeves  of 
damask  cloth  of  gold. 

A  dublet  of  cloth  of  sylver,  with  a  placard  to  the  same. 

A  dublet  of  crymsyn  saten,  with  a  placard  to  the  same. 

A  dublet  of  crymsyn  satyn,  cut  and  underlayd  with  cloth  of 
gold  of  damaske,  lyned  through  with  black  sarcenet,  and  a  pla- 
card to  the  same. 

A  dublet  of  crymsyn  tynsell. 

A  payre  of  hosyn  of  skarlet,  the  brech  of  sylver,  and  under- 
layd with  damaske  cloth  of  gold,  and  two  claspes,  and  two  oies 
of  sylver  and  gylt  to  the  same. 

Two  payre  of  hosyn,  skarlet,  garded  with  crymsyn  velvet. 

A  payre  of  hosyn  of  skarlet,  garded  with  the  same. 

A  payre  of  hosyn,  black,  with  purple  brech,  embroidered  and 
underlayd  with  cloth  of  sylver. 

Two  payre  of  hosyn  black,  and  garded  with  the  same. 

A  payre  of  hosyn  of  lether,  the  brech  of  skarlet,  and  garded 
with  the  same. 

A  petycoate  of  skarlett. 
.  A  cloke  of  skarlett. 

Three  plumettes  of  feders,  wherof  one  blacke,  one  russett,  and 
vij.  crymsyn. 

A  gowne  layd  with  sylver  and  gylt,  and  a  girdle  of  greene 
ribband  silke  with  a  greate  knot  therto. 

A  payre  of  arminge  spores,  and  arminge  sworde,  with  a  cloth 
corded  with  crymsyn  velvet.  A  buckler. 

A  paire  of  stirropes,  gilt,  newe,  the  ledders  corded  with 
crymsyn  velvett. 

A  paire  of  stirropes,  olde  and  gilt,  the  ledders  corded  with 
crymsyn  velvett. 

A  paire  of  stirropes,  the  ledders  corded  with  crymsyn  velvett, 
and  greene  and  whyte  lares. 

Tye  hoses  of  greene  velvett,  embroidered  with  clothe  of  gold. 

A  hole  hors  harnes  of  crymsyn  velvet,  frynged  with  damaske 
cloth  of  gold,  and  a  pilyon  of  crymsyn  velvet  for  my  Lady,  em- 
broidered with  damaske  cloth  of  golde. 

A  harnes  of  blacke  velvet  stoded  with     .     .     .     and  gilt. 

A  horse  harnes  of  greene  velvet,  embroidered  with  damaske 
cloth  of  gold. 


212  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [486 

A  headstall  and  a  reane  of  crymsyn  velvet,  guarded  with 
whyte  and  greene  ribands. 

A  sadle  covered  with  crymsyn  velvet,  frynged  with  damaske 
and  gold. 

A  saddle  covered  with  black  velvet,  frynged  with  damask  and 
gold,  and  new  girthes  to  the  same. 

A  saddle,  covered  with  black  clothes  for  a  male,  and  girthes 
to  the  same. 

A  sumpter  saddle. 

Two  barbes  for  horses. 

A  paire  of  buskyns  of  blacke  velvet. 

iij.  paire  of  buskyns  of  blacke  clothe. 

ij.  payre  of  yellow  buskyns. 

iij.  payre  of  buskyns. 

A  payre  of  shoes  of  crymsyn  velvet  quartered. 

iij.  payre  of  shoes  of  whyte  clothe,  wherof  one  paire  given  to 
Mr.  Audley,  the  ijd  day  of  October. 

iiij  paire  of  shoes  of  redd  clothe. 

iij.  paire  of  yellow  clothe. 

A  payre  of  arminge  shoes. 

A  payre  of  slippers  of  redd  letter. 

A  paire  of  male  gerthes. 

A  sumpter  cloth,  containing  in  length  ij.yds,  and  in  bredth  a 
yd  and  di. 

A  sumpter  cloth,  contayning  in  length  ij.  yerdes,  and  in  bredth 
1  *  and  di. 


A  gowne  of  tynsell  with  crymsyn  saten. 
A  gowne  of  damaske  clothe  of  golde,  lyned  with  crymsyn  saten. 
A  gowne  of  damaske  clothe  of  gold,  furred  with  ermyne. 
A  gowne  of  crymsyn  tynsell,  lyned  with  crymsyn  velvet. 
A  gowne  of  cloth  of  sylver,  lyned  with  damaske  clothe  of  gold. 
A  gowne  of  crymsyn  velvett,  perled,  and  lyned  with  cloth  of 
sylver. 

A  gowne  of  purple  velvett,  lyned  with  cloth  of  damaske  golde. 
A  gowne  of  blacke  velvett,  lyned  with  crymsyn  tynsell. 
A  gowne  of  greene  velvett,  lyned  with  greene  saten. 
A  gowne  of  whyte  satyn,  lyned  with  crymsyn  velvett. 
A  gowne  of  blacke  velvett,  furred  with  mynever. 


487]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  213 

A  gowne  of  black  velvett,  lyned.  with  crymsyn  saten. 

A  gowne  of  tawney  velvet. 

A  gowne  of  blacke  damaske,  lyned  with  blacke  velvet. 

A  gowne  of  russet  satyn,  lyned  with  grene  tynsell. 

A  gowne  of  tawney  camlet,  lyned  with  tawney  velvet. 

A  kirtle  of  damaske  cloth  of  golde. 

A  kirtle  of  yellow  satyn. 

A  kirtle  of  white  satyn. 

A  kirtle  of  black  velvet. 

A  kirtle  of  russet  satyn. 

A  cloke. 

A  christeninge  gown  of  blewe  velvet,  furred  and  powdered 
with  annins. 

A  payre  of  shoes  of  black  velvet. 

A  payre  of  shoes  of  blacke  cloth. 

A  payre  of  slippers  of  black  velvet. 

A  payre  of  slippers  of  black  lether. ' ' 14 

This  is  a  very  long  inventory,  but  many  like  it,  and  some  with 
more  items  of  wearing  apparel  still,  could  have  been  listed.  In- 
directly it  conveys  a  fair  impression  of  an  important  part  of  the 
work  of  the  men  entrusted  with  the  care  of  all  this  rich  stuff. 

The  ward-robers  were  busy  servitors ;  those  in  office  for  the  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  some  six  men  and  a  child,  were  among 
the  few  servants  in  that  great  household,  the  exigencies  of  whose 
offices  relieved  them  from  personal  attendance  upon  his  Grace  at 
all  hours  of  the  day.  Even  when  there  was  a  press  of  strangers 
to  be  entertained,  these  men  were  not  called  upon  to  help  in  the 
Hall  or  the  Great  Chamber,  if  their  proper  work  were  at  all  en- 
gaging.15 

Another  much  prized  household  department  was  the  Armory. 
Richard  Brathwait  writes  concerning  it  as  follows:  "It  is  a 
thing  very  commendable  that  the  Earle  have  a  faire  Armorye 
well  furnished  with  Armours,  Weapons,  and  shott;  and  it  will 
be  a  good  example  for  such  Noblemen  and  gentlemen  as  shall  see 
the  same,  to  furnish  themselves  according  to  their  places  and  de- 
grees; for  (albeit  I  hope,  and  with  all  my  harte  doe  pray,  that 
the  Kings  Majestie  may  long  raigne  over  this  Realme  of  Greate 

i*  Italian  'Relation  of  England,  Camden  Society,  125-129. 
is  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  326-327. 


214  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [488 

Brittaine  in  prosperity  and  peace)  yet  I  thincke  it  were  not 
amisse  in  time  of  peace  to  have  this  noble  Realme  furnished  and 
provided  of  all  things  necessary  for  Armes. ' ' 16 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  noblemen  had  their  armories  which 
were  probably  well  equipped.  The  historian  Harrison,  in  his 
chapter  on  Armour  and  Munitions  says  —  "As  for  the  armories 
of  some  of  the  nobilitie  (whereof  I  also  haue  scene  a  part)  they 
are  so  well  furnished,  [that]  within  some  one  baron's  custodie 
I  haue  seene  three  score  [or  a  hundred]  corslets  at  once,  beside 
caliuers  (i.e.  colivers)  hand-guns,  bowes,  sheffes  of  arrowes,  pikes, 
bils,  polaxes,  flaskes,  touchboxes,  targets,  &c:  the  verie  sight 
wherof  appalled  my  courage."17 

What  an  armory  of  the  early  day,  (about  the  middle  of  the 
15th  century)  might  have  in  the  way  of  equipment,  may  be  seen 
from  the  inventories  of  Sir  John  Fastolfe,  quoted  above.  Among 
other  paraphernalia  for  war-fare,  that  famous  old  soldier  had 
stored  up  in  his  domestic  arsenal  the  following  items  —  Pieces 
of  satin  and  silk  for  dublets  and  jackets;  jacks  of  black  linen 
cloth,  stuffed  with  mail,  and  canvas  and  mail ;  caps  armored  with 
mail  and  horn ;  mailed  gloves  of  sheep  and  doe  skin ;  great  cross- 
bows of  steel;  with  a  great  double  windlass;  small  and  great 
quarrels  —  the  latter  feathered  with  brass ;  cuirasses,  Brigander- 
ons,  Haubergeons,  Ventaylettes,  a  Garde-de-bras,  Salades  and 
spear-heads. 

Turning  to  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  it  appears  that  the  armory 
of  one  of  her  great  military  men,  at  least,  was  well  supplied  with 
equipment;  when  Lord  Willoughby  was  in  the  Netherlands,  one 
of  his  servants,  John  Stubbe,  wrote  to  his  Grace,  under  date  of 
May  14th,  1585,  concerning  some  domestic  affairs,  and  especially 
about  the  proposed  removal  of  some  equipment  from  the  armory ; 
he  expresses  himself  with  solicitude  as  follows  in  part  — ' '  There 
are  also  sixty  armours  to  be  carried  out  of  the  house  and  over 
seas,  for  the  delivery  of  which  she  (Lady  Willoughby)  would 
gladly  have  your  warrant.  She  is  having  them  dressed,  so  that 
they  may  be  ready  when  cousin  Wingfield  calls  for  them.  Wing- 
field  says  that  he  has  authority  from  you  to  take  these  things 
without  other  warrant  to  her.  'Good  my  Lord,  my  Lady  your 

ie  Brathwait,  40. 

IT  Description  of  England,  Book  II,  282,  New  Shakespeare  Society. 


489]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  215 

wife  takes  hirself  for  guardian  of  your  house  and  what  is  therein 
during  your  absence;  ...  it  wold  remedy  all  to  delyver 
your  pleasure  in  a  few  written  words.  To  say  truth  it  is  no 
tryfelyng  matter  to  empty  your  store  house  of  armor.  It  is  a 
man's  other  thresory,  therfor  requireth  som  warrant  from  your- 
self. A  man  shall  hardly  get  a  robbinet  out  of  hir  Majesties 
armory  without  a  warrant. ' ' 18 

The  household  armory  was  in  the  care  of  the  Armorers,  who 
were  regularly  enrolled  in  the  servant  corps.  Regarding  the 
duties  of  these  men,  Brathwait  again,  expresses  himself  as  fol- 
lows: "If  the  one  of  the  Armorers  be  a  perfect  workeman,  the 
other  may  serve,  though  he  be  of  lesse  skill;  for  I  would  have 
them  not  onely  able  to  scoure  and  dresse  Armours,  weapons  and 
shott,  and  to  place  the  same  in  the  Armorye  in  decent  and  seem- 
ely  manner,  but  also  to  make  Armours,  wherby  the  Earle  shal  be 
better  furnished,  and  they  kept  from  idlenes. ' ' 19 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  employed  four  hands,  all  of 
whom  probably  belonged  to  this  service.  The  first  of  these  was 
the  overseer  of  the  armory  and  the  armorer  who  received  for  his 
".  .  .  Fee  an  Hole  Yere  for  that  caus  to  be  payd  ones  a  Yere 
at  Michalmis  —  xx.s."  The  second  was  the  Armorer  himself, 
who  supplied  some  of  the  materials  of  his  craft  —  emery  and  oil 
for  cleaning  and  polishing,  and  buckles,  leather  and  nails  for 
repairing  his  goods ;  his  remuneration  was  53s :  4d.  per  annum,  in 
household  wages,  plus  an  additional  fee  of  10s.  paid  to  him  twice 
a  year  —  at  Lady-Day  and  Michaelmas.  The  two  other  men 
were  a  "Bower"  and  a  "Fletcher"  respectively;  the  former 
hired".  .  .  for  seynge  and  Dryssynge  of  all  my  Lordis  Bowes 
in  the  Yoman  of  Bowes  kepynge  from  tyme  to  tyme  Viz.  for 
Settynge  Pullynge  and  Skynnynge  of  them  yerely  as  oft  as  they 
nede  at  his  owen  cost  and  charge  And  to  fynde  Home  Glewe  and 
all  maner  of  things  that  they  lak  for  mendynge  of  them  when 
they  be  faltid  Which  my  Lord  gyffith  to  hym  yerely  for  his  Fee 
for  mendynge  and  seynge  to  my  said  Lordis  Bowes  to  be  paid 
ones  a  Yere  at  Michalmas  for  the  hole  Yere  —  xxs. " 

The  Fletcher  attended  to  the  dressing  of  all  the  arrows,  he, 
like  his  brothers  ".  .  .  to  fynde  Wax  Glewe  Silke  and  al 

is  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  25. 
i»  Brathwait,  40. 


216  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [490 

maner  of  othir  things  that  laks  for  mendyinge  of  the  said  Ar- 
rowes.  .  ."20 

It  was  the  question  of  military  preparedness,  further,  together 
with  the  need  of  being  well  equipped  against  several  of  the  com- 
mon diversions  of  the  day,  which  accounted  for  the  importance 
of  still  another  household  department  —  that  of  the  Horse.  The 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  ordinarily  sheltered  and  fed  from 
twenty-seven  to  thirty-three  horses.  These  were  for  the  use  of 
members  of  the  family  and  certain  servants,  for  the  most  part 
connected  with  the  stables;  they  were  catalogued  in  the  house- 
hold accounts  after  their  various  uses  —  gentle  horse,  palfreys 
for  my  lady  and  her  women,  his  Grace's  hobbies  and  nags,  a 
male-horse  for  carrying  the  earl's  armor,  sumpters  or  cloth-sack 
horses,  for  transporting  his  bed  and  wearing  apparel,  great  trot- 
ting horses  for  drawing  the  ' '  chariot, ' '  three  horses  for  the  mill, 
two  of  which  were  used  to  run  the  machinery,  while  the  third 
carted  grain  and  meal  to  and  from  the  mill  —  and  seven  for  the 
servants  ' '  that  ar  at  my  Lordes  Horsyng. ' ' 

During  the  winter,  the  earl's  careful  economy  limited  the 
number  of  horses  to  twenty-one,  kept  by  the  establishment  at 
"hard  meat"  in  the  stables.  Evidently  her  Grace  staid  in-doors 
during  that  rigorous  season;  at  any  rate,  her  palfreys  were  off 
the  pay-roll.  The  earl  drew  up  this  latter  list  which  was 
".  .  .  not  to  be  excidit  without  my  Lordes  Pleasure  knowen 
upon  a  (any)  Consideracion, ' '  while  his  heir  was  still  in  his 
nonage ;  notwithstanding  that  fact,  his  Grace  proudly  anticipates 
the  young  man's  happy  maturity  by  listing  "THE  HORSSES 
that  my  Lorde  allowith  the  LORDE  PERCY  his  Son  and  Heire 
to  have  stondynge  in  his  Lordshipes  STABLE  When  he  is  at 
Yeres  to  ryde  and  is  at  my  Lords  Fyndynge." 

Truly  one  would  need  little  more  than  this  old  accounting  to 
estimate  the  high  status  in  the  family  of  the  heir  of  the  Housel ! 
No  horses  were  listed  for  the  use  of  the  women,  as  above  ob- 
served; the  earl  himself,  furthermore,  was  content  with  two 
nags,  one  ' '  for  change, ' '  while  four  more  had  to  suffice  for  car- 
riage of  his  stuff  when  he  traveled  —  his  bed,  clothing,  armor, 
shaving-basin  and  ewer,  the  latter  utensils,  in  such  an  exigency, 
under  the  charge  of  a  Groom  of  the  Ewery.  A  nag  apiece  was 

20  Northumberland  Household  BooTc,  349,  352. 


491]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  217 

allotted  my  lord's  second  and  third  sons,  while  in  glittering 
contrast  to  the  humble  estate  of  these  luckless  minors,  and  pro- 
portionally, to  that  of  the  earl  himself,  the  generous  provision 
of  six  horses  must  have  gone  far  toward  satisfying  every  gal- 
loping whim  of  the  young  scion  upon  whose  shoulders  would 
presently  descend  the  ancient  dignity  of  the  House.  Once  vouch- 
safed a  proper  coming  of  age,  young  Lord  Percy  had  his  travell- 
ing equipment  handsomely  assured.  He  would  ride  in  winter 
on  a  great  double  trotting  horse ;  another  steed  of  similar  fashion, 
called  a  "Curtail"  should  bear  his  young  Grace  out  of  towns, 
while,  with  lavish  profusion,  still  a  third  was  guaranteed  to  fa- 
cilitate his  proper  entry  into  the  same  centres  of  civilization. 
An  ambling  horse  for  daily  travel,  with  "A  proper  ambling 
little  Nag"  against  hawking  and  hunting,  and  a  great  ambling 
gelding  to  lug  armor  and  a  change  of  apparel,  completed  the 
really  splendid  out-fit  destined  one  day  to  be  his ! 21  . 

These  horses  owned  by  the  earl,  however,  assured  less  than 
half  of  the  mounted  presentation  made  by  his  Grace's  establish- 
ment when  travelling;  all  but  seven  of  the  members  of  the  so- 
called  "riding  household,"  probably  owned  their  own  horses, 
but  the  necessary  fodder  for  them,  together  with  horse-meat  as 
they  called  it,  was  paid  for  winter  and  summer,  by  Northum- 
berland.22 

Northumberland's  riding  establishment,  at  least  that  part  of 
it  actually  owned  and  maintained  at  his  expense,  was  small.  In 
1469,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  had  ninty-three  horses  in  his  stables, 
sixty-nine  of  which  were  "double  horses,"  while  twenty-four 
were  hackneys.  Their  bare  maintenance  cost  the  prince  £266: 
17:3.  per  annum;  hay,  one  load  per  diem  costing  £73  a  year; 
oats,  of  which  1820  quarters  were  required  in  a  twelve-month, 
amounted  to  £151 : 13 :  4 ;  litter  for  bedding  —  one  hundred  and 
four  loads  a  year,  cost  £6 : 18 :  8,  while  shoeing  totaled  £35 :  5 :  3. 
in  a  year.23  This  however,  was  probably  a  sumptuous  equipment 
for  that  time,  and  belonging  to  a  prince  of  the  blood,  may  have 
been  above  the  average.  On  May  22nd,  1546,  however,  the 
Duchess  of  Suffolk  had  "90  horses  and  geldings  of  all  ages  and 

21  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  55  et  seq.,  357  et  seq.,  etc. 

22  Ibid.,  34,  37. 

23  Eoyal  Household  Ordinances,  104. 


218  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [492 

both  ambling  and  trotting,  'as  well  of  the  stood  as  for  the  care- 
age'.  .  .  "in  her  stables  and  pastures  at  Grimsthorpe.24  A 
contemporary  biographer  also  affirms  that  the  stables  of  Lord 
Burghley  cost  that  nobleman  at  least  1000  marks  per  annum,25 
while,  in  1561,  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby,  spent  £53:18:11  on 
beans  and  oats  alone,  for  horse  feed,  and  the  thirteen  "stablers" 
enrolled  in  the  servant  corps  of  the  Earl  Henry,  speak  well  for 
the  riding  equipment  of  that  nobleman.26 

The  conduct  of  the  stables,  like  all  the  other  household  depart- 
ments, was  in  the  hands  of  Yeomen  and  Grooms,  customarily 
called  after  their  special  branches  of  service  "Yeomen  of  the 
Horses,"  "Yeomen  of  the  "Waineries, "  "Yeomen  of  the  Stir- 
rups," "Groom  Sumpterman,"  or  "Groom  of  the  Hackneys" 
etc.  They  one  and  all  took  their  orders  from  the  Gentleman  of 
the  Horse,  a  functionary,  who,  from  the  importance  of  his  sta- 
tion, was  almost  on  a  par  with  the  great  officers  of  the  household. 

According  to  B  rath  wait,  the  office  of  Gentleman  of  the  Horse 
was  " .  .  .  not  properly  of  household,  yet  annexed  vnto  it ;  so 
that  if  the  cheefe  officers  doe,  either  in  the  saide  gentleman,  or 
any  els  belonging  to  the  stable,  finde  offences,  they  may  correct 
and  punish  the  same."  The  functions  of  his  office  ran  the  usual 
wide  gamut  of  duties ;  he  had  to  know  the  horses  weel,  breeding, 
buying  and  training  being  among  his  important  charges.  ' '  He  is 
to  take  delight  in  being  often  in  the  stable,  as  also  in  riding  him- 
selfe  vpon  great  Horses  which  will  cause  the  Rider  to  be  more 
diligent  to  make  them  well  mouthed  and  ready  to  gallop  the 
Ringe,  to  mannage,  to  make  the  standinge  turne,  to  passe  the 
Taro,  to  retire,  to  curvet,  and  bownde,  and  runne  a  swift  careere, 
and  to  make  a  iust  and  true  stopp.  If  an  horse  can  doe  all 
theese  well,  he  may  be  allowed  for  an  horse  of  service,  although 
ther  be  divers  other  things  for  pleasure,  which  the  Rider  may 
practize. ' ' 27 

The  Gentleman  of  the  Horse  held  the  appointment  of  his  Yeo- 
men and  Grooms  and  exercised  a  constant  surveillance  over  them ; 
while  under  ordinary  circumstances  such  superintendence  were 

2*  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  453. 

25  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  22  et  seq. 

26  Stanley  Papers,  Part  2,  3,  27,  86-87. 

27  Brathwait,  13  and  following. 


493]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  219 

detailed  enough,  yet  when  the  household  moved,  or  when  his 
Lordship  travelled,  a  special  respon'sibility  fell  to  the  share  of 
this  official;  diligent  painstaking  was  his  day's  order;  ".  .  . 
in  Tourneying,  .  .  .  he  is  to  be  last  up  in  the  evening,  and 
first  in  the  morning,  and  to  be  in  the  stables  both  after  and  be- 
fore the  grooms,  which  will  cause  both  yeomen  and  groomes  to  be 
more  diligent,  and  yet  all  will  be  little  enough,  as  by  experience 
he  shall  finde." 

When  his  Lord  journeyed  furthermore,  the  Gentleman  of  the 
Horse  gave  personal  attendance  —  "Hee  is  to  attende  his  lorde 
taking  horsse,  to  helpe  him  up  and  downe,  and  to  bee  alewayes 
neare  his  personne,  so  lonnge  as  hee  is  on  horsse  backe,  and  to  see 
his  lordes  spare  horsse  bee  ever  neare  and  reddie  uppon  call, 
likewise  to  see  the  footemen  bee  reddie  to  attende  on  eather 
side."28 

Finally,  this  officer,  like  his  fellows  in  other  trusts,  had  his 
careful  accounts  to  keep  —  lists  of  all  the  horses,  their  condition, 
the  pedigrees  of  foals  and  fillies  bred  in  the  stud,  inventories  of 
all  stable  paraphernalia,  the  feed  stored  and  used,  with  the 
source  of  supply  and  the  prices  affixed,  together  with  all  the  ex- 
pense accounts  when  the  household  or  some  part  of  it  travelled. 

Some  of  these  accounts  were  very  full  and  accurate.  One 
drawn  up  in  April  of  1547,  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  Duch- 
ess of  Suffolk,  fills  three  and  one-half  printed  pages.  Its  title 
in  part  indicates  its  scope  — ' '  The  booke  of  suche  horses  as  my 
Lades  grace  hathe  at  Grimsthorpe  or  ellse  where  the  28  of 
Aprill,  anno  primo  Ed.  VI.,  with  a  booke  thereonto  anexed  of 
all  suche  horses  and  geldinges  as  hath  ben  solde,  geven  or  died 
since  the  22  of  May  anno  38  Hen.  VIII.,  untill  this  same  daye 
afor  named."  The  tabulation,  as  the  title  sets  forth,  describes 
the  horses,  trotting,  ambling,  etc.,  frequently  with  some  further 
useful  characteristics,  age  and  perchance,  pedigree.  .  .  "A 
baye  flanders  mare  with  four  whight  fett."  "Baye  flanders 
with  a  melle  (i.e.  tender)  mothe,"  etc.29 

A  man  of  first  rate  intelligence  and  not  a  little  technical  train- 
ing, the  Gentleman  of  the  Horse  filled  a  conspicuous  office  in  the 
household.  In  the  social  life  of  the  establishment  also,  his  status 

as  Breviate,  326. 

29  Grimstliorpc  House  Papers,  453  et  seq. 


220  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [494 

was  high ;  dining  at  the  table  of  the  first  officers,  he  was  further- 
more honoured  with  the  distinction  of  carrying  up  the  first  dish 
to  his  lordship's  board,  while  if  guests  were  being  entertained, 
he  might  perchance  be  summoned  to  fill  the  very  honourable 
position  of  Carver  or  Sewer  to  his  Grace. 

A  very  peculiar  honour,  in  conclusion,  fell  to  the  Gentleman 
of  the  Horse  upon  the  sad  occasion  of  his  noble  master's  demise. 
In  the  stately  funeral  procession,  the  favorite  riding-horse  of  the 
deceased  was  saddled  and  bridled  with  black  velvet  trappings, 
and  led,  immediately  behind  the  corpse  of  its  late  master,  by  this 
officer,  its  somber  equipment  subsequently  falling  to  him  as  a 
dole.30 

A  passing  note,  finally,  should  be  taken  of  the  Garden  depart- 
ment, among  these  miscellaneous  branches  of  household  service. 
Brath wait's  description  of  the  duties  of  Gardners,  affords,  as 
usual,  a  good  insight  into  the  great  store  set  by  well  conducted 
gardens  among  the  nobility  of  the  Tudor  period.  "The  Gar- 
diners  should  not  onely  be  diligent  and  painefull,  but  also  ex- 
perienced and  skilfull,  at  the  least  the  one  of  them  to  have  seene 
the  fine  gardens  about  London  and  in  Kent ;  to  be  able  to  cast  out 
the  Quarters  of  the  garden  as  may  be  most  convenient,  that  the 
"Walkes  and  Allies  may  be  longe  and  large;  to  cast  up  mounts, 
and  to  make  fine  Arbours ;  to  set  hedges,  and  finely  to  cut  them ; 
to  tread  out  knottes  in  the  quarters  of  Armes  and  fine  devises, 
to  set  and  sowe  in  them  sweete  smelling  flowers  and  strewing 
hearbes;  to  have  in  the  finest  parts  of  the  garden,  Artichocks, 
Pompions,  Melons,  Cucumbers,  and  such  like;  in  other  places 
convenient,  Radishes,  Keritts,  Garrets,  and  other  rootes,  with 
store  of  all  kinde  of  hearbes  for  the  Kitchen  and  Apothecary: 
to  know  what  flowers  and  hearbes  will  beste  endure  the  Sunne, 
and  which  neede  most  to  be  shaded:  in  like  sorte  for  the  East 
and  North  winds,  not  onely  to  be  skilful  in  planting  and  graft- 
ing all  kinds  of  fruicte  trees,  but  also  how  to  place  them  in 
best  order:  to  be  able  to  iudge  of  the  best  times  and  seasons  to 
plante  and  graft  all  fruictes,  and  to  sett  and  sowe  all  flowers, 
hearbes,  rootes;  and  also  the  best  time  when  to  cut  and  gather 
all  hearbes,  and  seedes,  and  fruictes,  and  in  what  sorte  to  keepe 
and  preserve  them :  to  make  fair  bowling  Alleys,  well  banked, 

soBrathwait,  16. 


495]  MISCELLANEOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  221 

and  scaled ;  which,  being  well  kepte  in  many  howses  are  very 
profitable  to  the  gardiners.  .  . "  31  • 

It  is  not  necessary  after  this  sketch,  and  with  all  that  has  been 
Avritten  about  the  subject,  to  comment  (in  detail)  on  the  wonder- 
ful results  achieved  in  gardening  by  some  of  the  experts  in  the 
art  at  this  time  in  England.  The  Garden  of  Lord  Burghley,  at 
his  house  Theobalds,  must  have  been  wonderfully  beautiful ;  the 
observant  Hentzner  visited  it  and  set  down  this  brief  descrip- 
tion. ".  .  .  from  this  place  (the  gallery)  one  goes  into  the 
garden,  encompassed  with  a  ditch  full  of  water,  large  enough 
for  one  to  have  the  pleasure  of  going  in  a  boat,  and  rowing  be- 
tween the  shrubs ;  here  are  a  great  variety  of  trees  and  plants ; 
labyrinths  made  with  a  great  deal  of  labour;  a  jet  d'eau,  with  its 
bason  of  white  marble ;  columns  and  pyramids  of  wood  and  other 
materials  up  and  down  the  garden.  After  seeing  these,  we  were 
led  by  the  gardner  into  the  summer-house,  in  the  lower  part  of 
which,  built  semicircularly,  are  the  twelve  Roman  emperors  in 
white  marble,  and  a  table  of  touchstone;  the  upper  part  of  it  is 
set  round  with  cisterns  of  lead,  into  which  the  water  is  con- 
veyed through  pipes,  so  that  fish  may  be  kept  in  them,  and  in 
summer  time  they  are  very  convenient  for  bathing;  in  another 
room  for  entertainment,  very  near  this,  and  joined  to  it  by  a 
little  bridge,  was  an  oval  table  of  red  marble. ' ' 32 

King  James  I  afterwards  further  improved  and  embellished 
this  celebrated  garden,  and  another  foreigner,  one  Mandelslo, 
visiting  England  in  1640,  impressed  with  its  verdant  splendours, 
also  left  a  short  record  of  his  visit  to  it  —  "It  is  large  and 
square,  having  all  its  walls  covered  with  sillery,  and  a  beautiful 
jet  d'eau  in  the  centre.  The  parterre  hath  many  pleasant  walks, 
many  of  which  are  planted  on  the  sides  with  espaliers,  and  others 
arched  over.  Some  of  the  trees  are  limes  and  elms,  and  at  the 
end  is  a  small  mount,  called  the  Mount  of  Venus,  which  is  placed 
in  the  midst  of  a  labyrinth,  and  is  upon  the  whole,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  spots  in  the  world."33 

Truly  the  gardens  ran  a  wide  range  of  usefulness,  furnishing 
play-grounds,  picturesque  walks,  and  by  no  means  least,  fresh 
fruits  and  vegetables  for  the  table  and  herbs  for  the  apothecary ! 

si  Ibid.,  39-40. 

32  Hentzner 's  Travels,  38. 

33  Voyages  de  Mandelslo,  quoted  in  Archaeologia,  VII,  121. 


CHAPTER  X 

SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

This  furthermore  is  to  be  noted,  that  our  princes  (Princesse.  Ed.)  and 
the  nobilitie  haue  their  cariage  commonlie  made  by  carts,  wherby  it  cometh 
to  passe,  that  when  the  queenes  maiestie  dooth  remoue  from  anie  one  place 
to  another,  there  are  vsuallie  400  carewares,  (which  amount  to  the  summe 
of  2400  horsses,)  appointed  out  of  the  countries  adioining  whereby  his 
cariage  is  conueied  vnto  the  appointed  place.  .  ." 

—  HARRISON,  Description  of  England. 

Tudor  noblemen,  if  they  kept  their  estates  up  properly,  were 
apt  to  be  very  busy  men  —  more  so,  if  they  took  any  share  in  the 
worldly  affairs  of  their  day,  as  most  of  them  did.  However,  the 
intricate  details  of  estate  management,  no  more  than  the  peren- 
nial demands  of  politics  or  social  life,  exacting  as  these  might 
be,  filled  all  of  their  time,  and  a  wide  and  varied  round  of  diver- 
sions helped  them  fleet  their  leisure  hours  pleasantly  enough. 
Among  other  amusements  to  be  briefly  observed,  there  were  two 
practices  common  among  all  the  nobility,  which  border,  at  least, 
on  diversions  —  these  were  moving  from  residence  to  residence, 
and  travelling;  some  of  the  details  involved  in  the  conduct  of 
these  two  activities  are  exceedingly  interesting. 

All  noblemen  customarily  owned  several  residences  which 
they  reserved  for  their  own  use,  at  each  of  which  they  dwelt  for 
varying  lengths  of  time  every  year.  The  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland owned,  among  other  castles  and  manours,  four  places  in 
Yorkshire,  devoted  during  parts  of  each  year  to  his  personal 
use.  These  were  the  Castles  of  Leckinfield  and  Wressil,  the 
latter  about  one-half  the  size  of  Leckinfield  —  New  Lodge  in 
Leckinfield  Park,  and  Topclif,  described  by  Leland  "as  a  goodly 
maner  house  yn  a  parke;"  Leckinfield  was  situated  two  miles 
from  the  town  of  Beverly,  while  Wressil  was  equally  distant 

222 


497]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  223 

from  Howeden  Market  "where  the. bishop  of  Durham  hath  a 
f aire  palace. ' ' * 

The  great  Earls  of  Derby,  Lancashire  noblemen,  likewise  re- 
tained in  the  16th  century,  several  houses  for  their  own  accommo- 
dation—  Lathom  House,  New  Park,  a  lodge  in  Lathom  Park, 
and  Knowsley,  all  frequently  mentioned  in  their  household 
books.2  Lord  Willoughby  had  his  residence,  Grimsthorpe  House, 
in  Lincoln  County,  another  place  at  Stamford  in  the  same  coun- 
ty, as  well  as  his  London  residence  in  the  Barbican ;  and  a  con- 
temporary biographer,  describing  'the  housekeeping  of  Lord 
Burghley  says  "And  first  .  .  .  it  is  to  be  noted,  he  kept 
principally  two  houses  or  families;  one  at  London,  the  other  at 
Theobalds.  Though  he  was  also  at  chardge  both  at  Burghley 
and  at  Court,  which  made  his  houses  in  a  manner  four. ' '  4  This 
practice  was  common  with  all  the  nobility. 

The  Earl  of  Northumberland  and  the  Earls  of  Derby  used 
their  lodges  for  housekeeping  during  short  periods  only,  when 
accounts  were  being  taken,  or  as  temporary  dwellings,  while  one 
of  their  greater  houses  was  being  opened  up ;  and  in  Northum- 
berland 's  case,  residence  at  New  Lodge  was  always  with  a  lim- 
ited household.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  entire  establish- 
ment was  ' '  set  up  "  at  one  of  the  large  castles,  it  remained  in  oc- 
cupation usually  for  some  months  —  perhaps  half  a  year  run- 
ning, being  known  during  such  time  as  the  "standing  house." 
Thus  in  1586,  the  Earl  of  Derby  resided  at  Knowsley  from  July 
18th  to  December  24th.  In  the  year  following,  Lathom  House 
was  occupied  from  May  13th  to  July  24th,  when  the  household 
returned  to  Knowsley,  remaining  there  until  February  of  '88. 
In  1589,  part  of  June  and  July  was  spent  at  Lathom,  whilst 
during  the  summer  and  the  early  autumn,  Knowsley  was  again 
open.  From  January  to  April  of  1590,  the  household  resided  at 
Lathom,  Knowsley  being  the  residence  that  year  from  June  until 
the  end  of  August.5 

The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  probably  divided  his  resi- 
dence somewhat  after  this  fashion  between  his  two  Castles  of 

1  Northumberland  Household  Book,  465. 

2  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2. 

s  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers. 

*  Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa,  22  et  seq. 

5  Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2. 


224  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [498 

Leckinfield  and  Wressil,  the  first  of  which  houses,  however,  with 
the  New  Lodge  in  the  neighboring  park,  was  officially  closed 
each  year  from  Hallowe'en  until  Shrovetide.6 

The  process  of  moving  the  household  from  one  residence  to 
another  was  quite  a  ponderous  labour,  conducted  with  a  good 
deal  of  ceremony,  and  well  bolstered  up  with  certified  bills  and 
all  the  customary  clerk- work.  Certain  of  the  servants  always 
went  ahead  to  open  up  a  castle  and  set  all  in  readiness  for  habi- 
tation against  the  coming  of  the  rest  of  the  family;  and  while 
no  country  place  was  ever  left  without  a  keeper,  or  entirely 
closed,  fitting  for  residence  a  castle  like  Leckinfield,  with  its 
eighty-three  odd  apartments,  "houses"  and  chambers,  all  but 
eleven  of  which  were  shut  up  during  the  winter,  must  have  been 
quite  an  undertaking. 

If  the  family  spent  some  time  at  a  lodge,  or  in  a  neighboring 
town,  between  breaking  up  at  one  castle  and  re-establishing 
housekeeping  at  another  —  a  thing  frequently  done  —  certain 
servants  were  given  liberty  to  go  about  their  own  affairs  in  that 
interim,  and  probably,  as  in  the  Northumberland  household,  lost 
their  wages  for  that  period;  still  other  servants  were  delegated 
to  stay  on  in  the  castle  about  to  be  quit;  some  might  be  placed 
at  board-wages  in  the  town  were  the  family  sojourned,  drawing 
pay  also  for  attendance  upon  the  lord  and  lady,  which  they 
customarily  gave  between  meals ;  whilst  still  others  of  the  servant 
group  dwelt  in  the  usual  intimate  association  with  the  family, 
devoting  their  time  and  attention  to  household  service  as  under 
ordinary  conditions.  For  each  of  these  groups,  a  check-roll 
would  be  made  out  by  one  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Brevements,  or 
the  Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  containing  the  names  of  the  servants 
and  their  offices  in  the  household,  and  in  Northumberland's 
household  these  bills  received  his  Grace's  signature,  after  they 
had  passed  his  scrutiny.7 

Moving  entailed,  further,  the  actual  transportation  of  much 
household  material  —  furnishings,  and  servant  equipments.  In 
the  household  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  "carias:es" 
were  used  for  this  purpose,  and  each  time  residence  wras  changed 

6  Northumberland  Household  Book,  377  et  seq. 

i  Northumberland  Household  Book,  193-194,  250-251,  261-263.  See  also 
Stanley  Papers,  Pt.  2,  37,  and  Peck,  op.  cit.,  22  et  seq. 


499]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  225 

by  the  establishment,  the  loading  o^  the  carriages  was  superin- 
tended by  his  Grace's  Marshals  and  Ushers  of  the  Hall,  under 
direction  of  the  head  officers,  who,  in  turn,  worked  after  the 
household  rule  for  moving,  set  up  by  the  earl  himself  with  his 
domestic  council. 

According  to  this  regulation  of  Northumberland's,  at  each 
removal,  three  carriages  were  set  aside  for  the  ward-robe  stuff; 
this  included  apparel  belonging  to  the  earl  himself,  his  wife,  and 
her  ladyship's  gentlewomen;  their  bedding,  with  that  for  the 
children,  and  other  articles,  presumably  also  personal,  from  the 
Great  Chamber.  Two  of  these  carriages  had  to  take  every- 
thing except  stuff  actually  in  use  by  the  people  concerned  — 
".  .  .  the  Stuf  that  doith  hange  and  the  Beddes,  .  .  ." 
for  the  removal  of  which  the  remaining  carriage  was  reserved. 

Into  another  vehicle  was  placed  the  clothing  of  the  older  chil- 
dren and  that  of  their  attendants  and  servants.  Single  carts 
were  likewise  assigned,  one  for  the  lighter  vestry  furnishings,  a 
second  to  the  cups,  cans,  cruses,  basins,  chipping-knives,  and 
linen,  from  the  pantry,  buttery,  seller  and  ewery,  with  the  bed- 
ding and  clothing  of  the  servants  of  those  offices;  a  third  to  the 
bake-house  appurtenance,  with  the  beds,  apparel,  and  other  be- 
longings of  the  Bakers,  Brewers  and  Groom  Ushers;  a  fourth 
similarly  accomodated  the  Attorney,  if  he  were  in  the  house,  the 
two  Auditors,  two  Carvers,  two  Sewers  and  two  Gentlemen 
"Waiters ;  a  fifth  was  used  thus  by  the  Gentlemen  and  Yeomen  of 
the  Chambers;  a  sixth  and  .seventh  to  the  impedimenta  of  the 
eight  household  clerks  —  four  to  a  cart,  each  group  with  its 
"Gret  Standert  Chest  for  carying  of  ther  Bookes.  .  .";  an 
eighth  lugged  stuff  for  the  two  Chaplains,  the  Officers  of  Arms, 
four  Yeomen  of  the  Chamber,  four  Yeomen  Waiters  and  the  two 
Porters  —  all,  two  to  a  bed,  sorted  after  their  callings,  whilst  a 
ninth  cart  accomodated  the  "Toilles,"  bedding  and  apparel  of 
the  Smith,  Joiner,  Painter,  the  two  Minstrels,  and  the  two 
Huntsmen. 

Two  carriages  were  required  for  the  utensils  from  the  kitchen, 
scullery,  larder  and  pastry  departments,  including  spits,  pots, 
pans,  "traffets"  (i.e.  milk  strainers),  racks,  "Pryntes" 
(moulds?)  for  pastry,  scullery  vessels,  dresser  clothes,  ".  .  . 
with  the  ij  Beddes  for  the  iii j  Cookes  to  ly  in  And  all  the  Parsans 


226  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [500 

ther  apparrell.  .  ."  and  two  carriages  were  scheduled  likewise 
for  the  bedding  and  clothing  belonging  to  the  Dean,  Sub-Dean, 
Priests,  Gentlemen  and  Children  of  the  Chapel,  with  that  of  the 
Yeoman  and  Groom  of  the  Vestry ;  the  Priests  and  Gentlemen  of 
the  Chapel  were  allowed  a  bed  to  each  couple,  the  Yeoman  and 
Groom  also  slept  together,  whilst  the  little  youngsters  were 
bundled  three  to  a  bed ;  one  of  the  carts  loaded  the  beds,  whilst 
the  other  stored  wearing  apparel.8 

Thus,  might  one  have  been  a  wayfarer  on  that  Yorkshire  road- 
way lying  between  Leckinfield  and  Wressil  Castles,  on  a  fine 
September  day,  Anno  Domini  1520,  perhaps  there  had  lumbered 
past  him  down  the  rutted  way,  a  creaking  caravan  of  seventeen 
clumsy  vehicles,  in  each  of  which  was  carefully  stored  a  goodly 
portion  of  the  domestic  paraphernalia  belonging  to  the  greatest 
nobleman  in  those  parts  —  the  mighty  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land. Nay,  such  processions  must  have  been  common  enough 
sights  in  Sixteenth-century  England,  momentarily  stirring  the 
admiration  or  the  hatred  perhaps,  of  the  country  folk,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  particular  nobleman  owning  the  goods. 
But  as  old  Harrison  would  say,  whither  is  our  dreaming  fancy 
carrying  us !  Moving  on  its  practical  side  was  a  troublesome 
exercise,  necessary  perhaps,  to  more  easily  reach  food  stored  up 
on  different  demesnes ;  however,  the  whole  process  was  conducted 
with  a  fine  flourish,  which  leads  one  to  believe  that  it  was  not 
entirely  an  unpleasant  work,  while  to  a  lord  himself,  and  par- 
ticularly to  many  in  his  household,  moving  from  residence  to 
residence  must  have  proved  an  agreeable  change  of  surround- 
ings quite  worth  the  temporary  annoyance. 

Very  similar  to  this  cumbersome  but  stately  order  for  moving 
from  house  to  house,  was  the  regulation  of  the  Riding  House- 
hold—  an  institution  whose  proper  organization  and  working 
was  certainly  a  source  of  pride  and  satisfaction  to  those  haughty, 
aristocratic  old  noblemen.  Probably  it  was  a  portion  of  some 
nobleman's  Riding  Household  which  Paul  Hentzner  saw,  and 
which  led  him  to  comment  upon  the  proud  character  of  the 
English ;  at  any  rate  the  Riding  Household  was  that  very  goodly 
part  of  the  regular  establishment,  which  was  detailed  to  accom- 

s  Northumberland  Household,  Boole,  386  et  seq. 


501]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  227 

pany  a  nobleman  on  his  travels  either  about  his  own  country,  or 
abroad,  should  fortune  carry  him  thither. 

In  personnel  the  Riding  Household  was  simply  a  diminished 
domestic  equipment,  practically  every  department  of  the  regular 
home  establishment  being  represented  in  it.  It  was  organized 
to  give  such  service,  as  far  as  circumstances  would  permit,  as 
that  which  a  nobleman  enjoyed  at  home  —  to  guarantee  satis- 
faction of  his  every  want,  and  by  no  means  least,  to  assure  the 
royal  splendor  and  maintain  the  dignity  of  the  house  before  the 
world. 

The  "SHORTE  DRAUGHT  made  of  TH 'ORDER  of  my 
Lordes  SERVAUNTES  of  the  RIDING  HOUSHOLDE  As  well 
Winter  as  Somer  How  they  shal  be  appointed  to  gif  their  Atten- 
daunce  daily  at  every  tyme  when  my  Lorde  rides"  enumerates 
the  Riding  Household  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland.  There 
were  detailed  first,  a  group  of  five  servants  " .  .  .  that  RIDES 
befoir  with  hym  that  goith  to  taike  up  my  Lordes  Lodginges 
when  his  Lordeschippe  rides"  including  in  order  a  Yeoman 
Usher  of  the  chamber  ''for  taking  of  my  Lordes  Lodginges,"  a 
Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  who  saw  all  of  the  offices  properly 
equipped  for  the  incoming  of  their  officers, ' '  a  Yeoman  Uscher  of 
the  Hall  for  Herbigiours  for  my  Lordes  Servantes,"  a  groom 
for  his  Lordship's  chamber,  and  a  Yeoman  or  a  Groom  Cook. 
In  this  group,  the  Harbinger  was  a  most  important  functionary, 
one  whose  duties  must  often  have  been  perplexing  and  of  a  na- 
ture to  strain  the  temper  of  any  but  an  even  tempered  soul; 
mention  has  been  made  before  of  the  very  conscientious  at- 
tention paid  to  rank  in  Tudor  times;  it  was  an  exceedingly 
precious  commodity,  each  member  of  a  household  establishment, 
as  of  other  institutions,  guarding  his  modicum  of  status  jealous- 
ly ;  now  when  the  household  moved,  of  course  there  must  be  no 
pell-mell  jumbling  of  potentiores  and  inferiores.  Every  moth- 
er's son  had  to  be  lodged  while  on  the  road  exactly  at  his  proper 
radius  from  his  noble  master  and  this  finickin  task  was  the  Har- 
binger's chief  duty.  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  prescribed  the 
following  regulations  for  men  filling  this  office  in  his  household, 
and  they  well  illustrate  the  exacting  nature  of  this  servitor's 
work : 

"ITEM,  it  is  appoynted  that  the  herbergoures  for  the  tyme 


228  THE    HOUSEHOLD   OP    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [502 

beinge  shall  make  herbergage  to  everye  estate,  and  other  persons 
of  the  courte,  that,  after  theire  estate  and  degrees,  they  have 
lodginge  nexte  to  my  lord,  as  theyre  offices  and  attendaunces 
require.  And  that  noe  man  of  the  seid  courte  presume  to  dis- 
lodge any  man,  or  take  any  lodginge,  other  then  shall  be  ap- 
poynted  by  the  seid  herbergoures ;  and  if  case  be  that  any  of  the 
seid  company  be  lodged,  yett  for  resonable  causes  and  consider- 
ations to  remove  hym,  and  otherwise  lodge  hym,  as  the  case  shall 
require.  Alway  forseen  that  in  the  town  adjoyning  to  my  lorde's 
lodginge  be  reserved  and  kept  reasonable  lodging  for  straungers, 
and  suche  as  shalle  resorte  to  the  seide  Duke;  and  if  any  man 
presume  to  do  or  offend  contrarye  to  this  ordinaunce,  to  be  pun- 
ished, for  the  furst  offence  to  leese  a  monethe's  wages;  the 
second  tyme  to  be  emprisoned;  the  third  tyme  to  be  putte  oute 
of  the  courte."9 

To  return  to  the  Riding  Household  —  in  addition  to  these  of 
the  first  group,  a  party  of  officers  called  cloth-sack  officers  rode 
likewise,  ever  in  advance  of  the  real  cavalcade;  they  were  a 
Groom  Sumpterman  for  the  Cloth-Sack  with  his  lordship's  bed, 
a  similar  officer  with  the  cloth-sack  with  the  coffers,  and  the 
gentlemen  servants  attendant  upon  the  cloth-sacks. 

Finally,  in  the  procession  proper,  a  Yeoman  of  the  Cellar, 
with  his  cup,  Marshals  of  the  Hall,  an  Officer  of  Arms,  Gentle- 
men Attendants,  a  Gentleman  Usher  of  the  Chamber,  together 
with  a  Sewer,  Carver,  Cup-bearer  and  Chaplain,  rode  ahead  of 
the  earl,  while  in  the  rear  this  veritable  ambassadorial  accom- 
paniment was  rounded  up  by  the  Yeomen  of  the  Robes,  Horses, 
Chambers,  Pantry,  Buttery,  and  the  Yeomen  Waiters,  the 
Grooms  of  the  Chambers,  Ward-robe,  Ewery  and  Stirrups,  Clerks 
of  the  Signet  and  Foreign  Expenses  and  ".  .  .  all  outher 
Yomen  being  with  my  Lorde  to  ride  bihinde  my  Lorde  in  like 
caas."10 

There  were  fifty-seven  people  in  Northumberland's  Riding 
Household,  a  complete  equipment,  and  proportionally  as  digni- 
fied and  serviceable  as  that  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  which  latter, 
with  its  high  officers,  Chaplains,  Bachelor  Knights,  Secretary, 
Ushers,  Yeomen  and  Grooms,  Herald-Messengers  and  Trumpets, 

a  Eoyal  Houselwld  Ordinances,  94. 

10  Northumberland  Household  Bool:,  156  et  seq. 


503]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  229 

listed  in  1469,  some  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  persons.11  What 
a  picturesque  and  truly  splendid  institution,  this  of  the  Biding 
Household!  Its  advanced  guard  of  busy  harbingers  with  their 
attendants  to  select  and  assign  proper  quarters  to  all  in  his 
Grace's  train;  then  the  cavalcade  itself,  all  duly  officered  and 
equipped  to  make  the  best  possible  presentation,  and  guarantee 
his  lordship  the  elaborate  ceremonial  of  home  service;  all  en 
route,  furthermore,  moving  to  the  brisk  note  of  the  trumpet. 
Each  establishment,  as  noted,  had  its  Trumpets  and  Drums,  and 
according  to  Brathwait,  the  former  musician  was  a  prominent 
personage  when  the  household  moved  —  "When  the  Earle  is  to 
ride  a  Journey,  he  is  early  every  morning  to  sownde,  to  give 
warning,  that  the  Officers  may  have  time  to  make  all  things  ready 
for  breakefast,  and  the  groomes  of  the  stable  to  dresse  and  meate 
the  horses.  When  it  is  breakefast  time,  he  is  to  make  his  second 
sounding:  breakefast  ended,  and  things  in  a  readiness,  he  is  to 
sounde  the  third  time,  to  call  to  horse.  He  is  to  ride  formost, 
both  out  and  into  any  towne,  sounding  his  trumpet.  Upon  the 
way  he  may  sounde  for  pleasure.  But  if  he  see  the  day  so  spent 
that  they  are  like  to  bringe  late  to  their  lodging,  he  is  to  sound 
the  Tantara,  to  move  them  to  hasten  their  pace. ' '  The  trumpeter 
blew  with  a  right  good  lust  too,  for  our  pleasant  old  author 
warns  him  and  the  drummer  ".  .  .  to  goe  often  into  the 
Stable,  to  acquainte  the  horses  with  the  sounde  of  the  trumpet, 
and  the  noise  of  the  drumme."12  If  in  the  daily  life  of  these 
old  noblemen  there  was  much  which  impresses  one  as  barbaric, 
truly  they  did  foster  a  tone,  a  varied  colour  in  their  domestic  in- 
stitutions indicative  of  a  vigorous  zest  for  life  and  its  possibilities 
which  is  refreshing  to  contemplate ! 

The  noblemen's  resources  for  diversions,  more  strictly  speak- 
ing, were  astonishingly  varied ;  without  mentioning  the  numerous 
games  and  races,  enlivened  ordinarily  by  betting,  a  round  of 
diversified  entertainment  was  readily  available  certainly,  for  any 
interested  in  it,  running  all  the  way  from  the  curious  charms  of 
a  wandering  bear-ward  or  juggler,  to  a  piece,  perchance  by  the 
Royal  Players  themselves ! 

In  1560-61,  Richard  Bertie  (later  Lord  Willoughby)  and  his 

11  Boyal  Household  Ordinances,  99. 

12  Brathwait,  44-45. 


230  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF    A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [504 

Countess  enjoyed  miscellaneous  entertainment,  a  part  of  which 
with  their  rewards  was  as  follows :  "To  one  of  Borne,  which 
brought  a  bayting  bull,"  3s.4d.  "To  one  which  played  the 
hobby  horse  before  my  Master  and  Ladies  Grace."  6s.8d.  "To 
Goods  the  master  of  fense  and  his  companie  which  played  before 
her  Grace."  13s.4d.  "To  two  men  which  played  upon  the  pup- 
petts  two  nights  before  herr  Grace. ' '  6s.8d.  ' '  To  four  musitians 
and  a  hobby  horse  which  weare  at  Belealwe  at  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Carro  and  Denman."  ISs.lOd.  "To  a  moresse  dawncer  of 
litle  Bytam."  2s.  "To  a  jugler  With  his  musisioner  at  Mr. 
Nautons  mariage."  10s.13 

Belvoir  Castle  was  visited  by  jugglers,  mummers,  bull-baiters, 
dancing  bears,  bear-wards,  among  others  —  those  of  the  Queen, 
and  those  of  their  Lords  of  Suffolk  and  Westmoreland,  —  jesters 
and  fighting  dogs,  for  all  of  which  amusement  small  sums  were 
paid  out  by  their  Graces.14  Not  infrequently  too,  noblemen  de- 
pended upon  home  talent  for  this  sort  of  diversion.  The  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland  had  his  own  bear-ward,  as  did  many  of 
the  noblemen,  and  his  Grace  "usithe  and  aceustomyth  to  gyfe 
yerly  when  his  Lordschipe  is  at  home  to  his  Barward  when  he 
comyth  to  my  Lorde  in  Cristmas  with  his  Lordshippes  Beests  for 
makynge  of  his  Lordschip  pastyme  the  said  xij  days  —  xxs." 

Such  was  a  common  part  of  the  miscellaneous  entertainment 
of  the  day,  a  kind  of  motly  vaudeville,  in  circuit  from  castle  to 
castle.  A  higher  type  of  amusement,  certainly,  was  offered  in 
that  drama-loving  age  by  the  scores  and  scores  of  player  troops, 
maintained  frequently  by  noblemen  themselves,  by  royalty,  and 
also  by  many  of  the  cities.  Most,  if  not  all  of  such  troops, 
toured  the  great  houses  of  the  nobility,  and  their  performances, 
together  with  plays  done  often  by  the  servants  of  a  household, 
certainly  offered  a  great  variety  of  dramatic  entertainment. 

At  Belvoir  Castle  rewards  were  paid  through  a  series  of  years 
to  players  of  the  Lord  Marquis  of  Exeter,  to  those  of  Lincoln, 
Wigan,  Holland,  Sleaford,  Derbyshire,  Doncaster,  Newark,  Lynn, 
to  the  Queen's  troupe.  Lady  Suffolk's,  Lord  Shandone's  (Shan- 
non's?), Lord  Berkley's,  Lord  Dudley's,  Lord  Mounteagle 's,  to 
the  Children  of  Newark,  and  to  many  other  troupes  which 

13  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers,  463  et  seq. 
i*  If**,  of  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  270  et  seq. 


505]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  231 

weren't  named  specifically.  These  illustrations  are  perfectly 
characteristic  of  all  households;  further  evidence,  however,  of 
the  great  prevalence  of  this  kind  of  entertainment  is  offered  in 
the  exact  schedule  of  player  rewards  drawn  up  by  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland  for  observance  in  his  establishment :  ' '  ITEM 
My  Lorde  usith  and  accustometh  to  gif  yerely  when  his  Lord- 
shipp  is  at  home  to  every  Erlis  Players  that  comes  to  his  Lord- 
schipe  bitwixt  Cristynmas  ande  Candlemas  If  he  be  his  speciall 
Lorde  and  Frende  ande  Kynsman  —  xxs. ' '  and  again,  with  due 
observance  of  relative  merit:  "ITEM  My  Lorde  usith  and  ac- 
customyth  to  gyf  yerely  when  his  Lordship  is  at  home  to  every 
Lordis  Players  that  comyth  to  his  Lordschipe  betwixt  Cristynmas 
and  Candilmas  —  xs. " 

The  Children  of  the  Chapel  of  this  nobleman,  furthermore, 
were  practised  in  the  performance  of  religious  pieces  at  least; 
they  received  xxs  " .  .  .  if  they  doo  play  the  Play  of  the  Na- 
tivitie  uppon  Cristynmes-Day  in  the  mornnynge  in  my  Lords 
Chapell  befor  his  Lordship."  They  received  the  same  fee  for 
enacting  the  play  of  the  Resurrection  upon  Easter  morning,  and 
shared  with  the  other  servant  performers  a  x  s.  bonus  for  " .  .  . 
the  Play  befor  his  Lordship  uppon  Shroftewsday  at  night.  .  ." 
The  Christmas  plays  in  this  household  were  under  the  manage- 
ment of  his  Grace's  Master  of  the  Revels,  whose  pay  was  xxs 
".  .  .  for  the  overseyinge  and  orderinge  of  his  Lordships 
Playes  Interludes  and  Dresinge  that  is  plaid  befor  his  Lordschips 
in  his  Hous  in  the  xi jth  Dayes  of  Cristenmas.  .  . "  15 

Beside  this  director  of  the  season's  dramatic  activities,  an 
Abbot  of  Misrule  also  held  sway  for  the  earl  over  the  Holiday 
festivities  in  general  and  was  rewarded  with  xxs.  like  the  Master 
of  the  Revels,  for  his  efforts.16 

It  is  delightful  to  record  that  most  of  the  entertainment  of  the 
day  was  graced  with  an  accompaniment  of  that  "commendable 
sweete  science,"  music,  as  B  rath  wait  well  calls  it.  Every  house- 
hold had  its  ' '  musitianers, "  some  of  whose  pleasant  services  have 
already  been  observed.  They  had  other  duties,  however,  full  as 

IB  Northumberland  Household  Book,  339  et  seq. 

10  Bishop  Percy,  the  editor  of  the  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  says 
that  the  Abbot  of  Misrule  was  probably  the  same  personage  who  was  later 
called  the  Lord  of  Misrule,  after  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  when  the 
word  Abbot  had  an  ill  sound. 


232  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [506 

dainty  as  their  play  at  feasts  and  upon  journeys,  one  of  which 
was  their  joyous  heralding  in  of  the  New  Year,  done  at  the 
chamber  door  of  the  master  of  the  household,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  then,  in  turn  at  the  bed-room  doors  of  the  members  of 
the  family.  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  records  his  boun- 
den  requital  of  these  aubades  with  his  usual  exactness : — ' '  ITEM 
My  Lorde  usith  ande  accustomyth  to  gyfe  yerly  when  his  Lord- 
shipp  is  at  home  to  his  Mynstraills  that  be  daly  in  his  Houshold 
as  his  Tabret  Lute  ande  Eebek  upon  New-Yeares-Day  in  the 
mornynge  when  they  doo  play  at  my  Lordis  Chambre  doure  for 
his  Lordschipe  and  my  Lady  xxs.  Viz.  xiijs.iiijd.  for  my  Lorde 
and  vjs.viiijd.  for  my  Lady  if  sche  be  at  my  Lordis  fyndynge 
and  not  at  hir  owen  And  for  playinge  at  my  Lordis  sone  and  heir 
Chaumbre  doure  the  Lord  Percy  ijs.  And  for  playinge  at  the 
Chaumbre  doures  of  my  Lords  Yonger  Sonnes  my  Yonge  Mais- 
ters  after  viijd.  the  pece  for  every  of  them  —  xxiijs.iiijd."  1T 

Brathwait  notes  another  common  duty  of  the  household  mu- 
sicians—  "They  are  to  teach  the  Earle's  children  to  singe  and 
play  upon  the  Base  Violl,  the  Virginalls,  Lute,  Bandora  or  Cit- 
erne. " 18  In  all  households,  in  fact,  teaching  their  art  was  prob- 
ably no  small  part  of  the  musician's  work.  At  Belvoir,  Lady 
Frances  Manners  was  taught  the  guitar,  and  earlier,  her  lady- 
ship in  that  household  probably  knew  the  lute,  as  an  outlay  of 
£3 :7s.  for  a  lute,  a  lute  book  and  a  set  of  song  books  would  seem 
to  imply ;  at  one  time,  his  lordship  played  upon  the  viol  too.19 

At  Wallaton,  Francis,  nephew  of  the  Willoughby 's,  was 
taught  to  sing,20  and  payments  were  recorded  for  lessons  on  the 
virginals.  Not  infrequently  also,  likely  talent  in  some  member 
of  the  household  force  perhaps,  or  even  in  one  outside  the  estab- 
lishment, attracted  the  attention  of  some  member  of  a  noble- 
man's family,  and  forthwith  a  jocund  philanthropy  urged  in- 
struction for  its  development.  At  Belvoir,  for  example,  little 
Richard,  my  lady's  Page,  was  taught  to  play  upon  the  lute,21 

if  Northumberland   Household   BooTc,    343-344.     Similar   payments    were 
made  in  all  households, 
is  Brathwait,  44. 
i?  Mss.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  532,  432. 

20  Mgs.  of  Lord  Middleton,  412,  413,  414. 

21  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  381. 


507]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  233 

and  the  Steward  of  Lord  John  Howard  of  Norfolk  noted,  ' '  Item, 
the  same  day  my  Lord  made  eonienaunte  with  "Willm  Wastell, 
of  London,  harper,  that  he  shall  have  the  sone  of  John  Colet  of 
Colchester,  harper,  for  a  yere,  to  teche  hym  to  harpe  and  to  synge, 
for  the  whiche  techynge  my  Lord  shall  geve  hym  xiij.s.  iiij.d.  and 
a  gown ;  wherof  my  Lord  toke  hym  in  ernest  vj.s.  viij.d.  And  at 
the  ende  of  the  yere  he  shall  have  the  remenaunt,  and  is  gown; 
and  he  is  bound  be  endentur  to  my  Lord  to  performe  this  com- 
enauntes  before  wretyn. "  22 

There  was,  in  truth,  a  remarkable  zest  for  music  among  the 
Tudor  nobility ;  their  household  books  abound  with  expense  items 
noting  the  purchase  of  all  manner  of  musical  gear  —  instru- 
ments, materials  for  their  equipment,  costs  for  their  repair, 
songs,  anthems,  all  the  cheerful  paraphernalia  needed  in  its  per- 
formance. These  items  are  constantly  recurring,  and  some  of 
them,  especially  those  of  the  purchase  of  instruments,  were  often 
quite  large.  At  Belvoir,  for  example,  in  1602,  a  harp  was 
bought,  costing  £8,  and  a  viol  da  gamba  costing  £4,  while  an 
organ  installed  in  1620,  a  much  more  elaborate  instrument  cer- 
tainly than  those  in  the  Chapel  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, cost  £55,  and  was  paid  for  in  installments ! 23 

The  great  taste  for  music  among  the  nobility  was  in  large  part 
gratified  too,  as  was  their  enthusiasm  for  dramatics,  by  the  per- 
formances of  skilled  musicians  of  all  kinds,  who,  like  their 
brothers  of  the  stage,  toured  the  country,  stopping  for  brief  so- 
journs at  the  great  houses  of  the  nobles,  especially  during  the 
Holiday  season,  all  of  whom  were  eager  to  exercise  their  pretty 
skill  for  the  ever  coveted  pittance. 

Away  back  in  the  early  day,  Lord  John  Howard,  at  this  place 
Stoke,  in  Suffolk,  was  visited  from  time  to  time  by  the  Lord  of 
Kent's  Minstrels,  The  Trumpets  of  the  Lord  of  Glocester,  Lady 
Norfolk's  Minstrels,  My  Lord  of  Glocester 's  Shalms,  Lord 
Make 's  Minstrels,  the  Minstrels  of  Colchester,  Thos.  Stokes,  Min- 

22  Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  300-301.     Music  was  not  always 
reserved  for  feasts  and  entertainments  only ;  in  the  household  of  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  it  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  servant  attendance  ordained 
for  the  Great  Chamber  for  the  evening,  there  were  two  minstrel  yeomen 
waiters ! 

23  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  4,  434,  516. 


234  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [508 

strel  of  Hadley,  Thos.  Gardener,  Minstrel  of  Hersted,  and  other 
wandering  artists  whose  names  are  forever  lost.24  Still  more 
varied  and  picturesque  lists  than  this  might  be  made  up  for  the 
other  great  houses  like  Belvoir,  or  Grimsthorpe;  but  the  prev- 
alence of  these  tours  by  different  performers  is  best  illustrated 
again,  as  was  the  case  with  the  players,  by  the  accurate  regula- 
tions of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  regarding  them: 
"ITEM  My  Lorde  usith  and  accustomyth  to  gyfe  yerly  to  every 
Erlis  Mynstrellis  when  they  custome  to  come  to  hym  yerely  iijs. 
iiijd.  Ande  if  they  come  to  my  Lord  seldome  ones  in  ij  or  iij 
yeres  then  vis.viijd.  —  vi  s.  viijd."  The  "Kyngs  Shames"  re- 
ceived for  their  yearly  performance  xs.,  and  every  " .  .  .  Dookes 
or  Erlis  Trumpetts  if  they  com  vj  together  to  his  Lordshipp  Viz. 
if  they  come  yerly  vjs.  viijd.  ande  if  they  come  but  in  ij  or  iij 
Yeres  than  —  xs. "  25 

At  a  later  date  the  amounts  laid  out  on  Christmas  music  were 
very  much  greater  than  the  sums  disbursed  by  this  old  York- 
shire house.  At  Belvoir,  in  the  early  17th  century,  £6:13s:4d. 
was  a  common  payment,  through  a  series  of  years,  for  that  part 
of  the  festivities.28 

"Withal,  however,  the  age  was  a  propitious  one  for  music  and 
musicians.  The  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland  paid  his  Taborette 
player  £4  a  quarter — as  much  as  his  Dean  of  the  Chapel  re- 
ceived, and  the  salaries  per  quarter  of  the  other  Minstrels  —  the 
lute  and  rebec  players,  viz.  33s  :4d.  compare  very  favorably  with 
the  stipends  of  the  other  household  servitors.27  Music,  in  short 
was  an  indispensable,  fine  commodity,  and  one  of  the  book- 
keepers for  the  Willoughby's  at  Wallaton  neatly  illustrated  the 
fact  when  he  entered  the  purchase  of  a  virginal  among  the 
' '  Necessaries  of  House ' '  in  his  accounts ! 28 

In  brief  conclusion  regarding  amusements.  Many  noblemen 
in  the  Tudor  period  were  very  cultured  men,  and  derived  no 
little  pleasure  and  profit  from  the  purchase  and  study  of  Mss.  and 
books  which  they  stored  in  their  libraries.  All  houses  had  their 

24 Howard  Household  Books  (Collier),  107,  116,  142,  145,  207,  216,  294, 
336,  340,  etc. 

25  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  339,  341. 

26  MSS.  of  the  Duke  of  Eutland,  4,  504,  514,  523,  etc. 

27  Northumberland  Household  Boole,  46  et  seq. 

28  Mss.  of  Lord  Middleton,  397. 


509]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN   THE  HOUSEHOLD  235 

libraries,  and  some  castles  had  several ;  Leckinfield,  for  example, 
one  of  the  fortified  residences  of  the  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, contained  two  libraries  reserved  for  his  Grace,  one  of  them 
probably  a  little  cabinet,  as  it  is  described  as  having  been  "over 
the  Chapell  Dour,"  and  my  Lady's  library.  To  all  of  these 
rooms  fuel  allowances  were  made  in  winter,  even  when  his  Grace 
wasn't  abiding  at  the  castle.  The  large  library  of  Earl  Percy 
wjis  probably  tastefully  embellished  for  its  day;  the  industrious 
and  observant  Leland,  who  described  the  Castle  in  his  Itinerary, 
says  that  several  of  the  apartments  were  inscribed  on  the  walls 
or  the  roofs,  and  among  the  rooms  so  decorated  was  the  earl's 
library;  "The  Proverbis  in  the  Roufe  of  my  Lordis  Library  at 
Lekyngfelde"  contained  twenty  stanzas  of  four  lines,  of  which 
the  following,  with  its  budget  of  sage  advice  is  one :  — 

To  every  tale  geve  thou  no  credens. 
Prove  the  cause,  or  thou  gyve  sentens. 
Agayn  the  right  make  no  dyffens 
So  hast  thou  a  clene  Consciens.2^ 

Regarding  the  purchase  of  books,  B  rath  wait's  advice  to  noble- 
men in  the  matter  is  interesting  as  reflecting  the  taste  of  a  con- 
temporary cultured  gentleman,  and  probably  of  noblemen  them- 
selves, as  he  evidently  founded  most  of  what  he  said  upon  ob- 
servation of  actual  conditions.  He  is  writing  concerning  the 
keeping  of  books  of  payments,  which  he  would  have  divided  into 
different  categories  to  suit  different  purchases  made,  and  one  of 
these  categories  should  be  "Bookes  bought"  —  "Vnder  this 
title,"  he  goes  on,  "are  to  be  set  downe  all  bookes,  papers, 
parchement,  wax,  standishes,  Inkehornes,  Inkepottes,  Inkedust, 
and  boxes,  Incke,  Pennes,  and  Quilles,  etc.  And  here  I  doe  wish 
the  Earle  not  to  be  sparing  of  his  purse,  but  to  have  a  faire  Li- 
brary, furnished  with  bookes  both  of  Divinitye  and  Philosophy, 
Astrology,  Cosmography,  Lawe,  Arte  of  Warr,  Heraldry;  but 
especially  to  be  furnished  with  bookes  Historicall,  both  concern- 
ing the  Church,  and  also  all  Countryes  and  Commonwealthes, 
with  Globes,  Cards,  and  Mappes;  and,  as  leasure  will  serve,  to 
exercise  himselfe  in  reading  and  perusing  of  them."  30 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  a  good  deal  of  book-buying 

20  Northumberland  Household  Book,  461-462. 
so  Brathwait,  49. 


236  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [510 

among  the  noblemen,  as  their  household  books,  inventories  of 
goods,  and  catalogues  of  libraries  will  attest.  Sir  William  Fair- 
fax, who  lived  in  the  latter  half  of  the  16th  century,  left,  among 
the  inventories  of  his  other  household  goods  "A  note  of  all  my 
Bookes  Remayning  at  Gillinge."  The  little  catalogue  lists  some 
thirty-nine  volumes  classified  by  their  owner  into  three  groups  — 
"Latten,"  "ffrench"  and  "Inglish."  The  titles  may  not  have 
constituted  the  complete  library  at  this  one  residence  —  Gilling, 
but  even  if  they  did,  they  were  sufficiently  interesting,  and  cast 
a  very  pleasant  light  on  the  gentler  interests  of  this  illustrious 
heir  of  a  famous  house. 

The  different  works  cover  a  variety  of  subjects ;  those  in  Latin 
included  the  Meditations  of  St.  Augustine,  a  New  Testament, 
the  Biblia  Magna  Jeronomi,  together  with  the  latter 's  Promptu- 
arium,  some  Chronicles,  and  a  work  entitled  Praedium  Rusticum. 
The  French  works  were  more  numerous  and  varied  —  Livy,  Taci- 
tus, Caesar's  Commentaries,  Svetone  Trauquille  de  la  vie  des  xij 
Caesars,  Machiavelli 's  Discourses,  the  Philocopius  of  Boccaccio, 
"Le  tierce  part  de  Afrique,"  "La  description  de  tous  les  Pays- 
Bas, ' '  and  then,  amidst  this  solid  stuff  of  the  ages  — ' '  Le  guidon 
des  parens  en  instruccon  de  leurs  E  (enfants?),"  Le  Peregrin, 
and  last,  but  probably  by  no  means  least,  in  the  estimate  of  some 
of  the  members  in  the  household  anyhow,  an  exceedingly  popular 
book  "Le  Thresor  des  livres  Damades  de  Gaull"  and  "Le  dis 
lme  Livre  Damadis  de  Gaule."  Among  the  English  titles  were 
the  classics  Plutarch,  Froissart,  Chaucer  and  Hollinshed,  to- 
gether with  a  curious  assortment  including  "Sir  Roger  Williams' 
booke,"  probably  "A  Brief  Discourse  of  War"  by  the  famous 
Welsh  soldier,  chiefly  of  Low  Country  fame  —  a  work  simply 
styled  "Appian,"  doubtless  the  History  of  Appian  of  Alex- 
andria—  a  famous  controversial  work  of  the  day,  Fulke's  Testa- 
ment, entered  in  his  catalogue  by  Fairfax  as  "Fulks  answere  to 
Rehms  testament,"  the  meaning  of  which  becomes  apparent  on 
noting  the  complete  title  of  the  old  book  —  "The  Text  of  the 
New  Testament  of  Jesus  Christ,  translated  out  of  the  Vulgar 
Latine  by  the  Papists  of  the  traiterous  Seminarie  at  Rhemes 
.  .  .  with  a  confutation  of  all  such  arguments,  Glasses,  and 
Annotations,  as  conteine  manifest  impietie. "  London,  1589.;  a 
work  called  "The  French  Academy,"  John  Nichols  pilgrimage, 


511]  SOME  DIVERSIONS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  237 

and  then  the  quaint  titles  "A  perfect  plote  of  a  hope  garden." 
"A  summons  for  slepers,"  "Pathway  to  Martiall  disciplyne," 
"A  booke  of  hawkyn,"  "A  Register  of  all  the  gentlemens  arms 
yn  great  chamber,"  and  some  others  difficult  to  identify.31 

A  far  more  interesting  and  important  collection  than  this  just 
noted,  was  the  splendid  library  of  Mss.  and  printed  books,  as- 
sembled by  Lord  William  Howard  at  his  principal  residence 
Naworth  Castle.  Howard  was  a  writer  and  an  antiquarian  of 
ability;  when  a  young  man  he  published  an  edition  of  Florence 
of  Worcester's  Chronicle  which  he  dedicated  to  Lord  Burgh- 
ley  ; 32  he  was  the  personal  friend  and  co-worker  of  Cotton  and 
Camden,  and  certainly  an  indefatigable  lover  and  collector  of 
books.  The  catalogues  of  Mss.  which  he  had  at  Naworth  em- 
brace sixty-five  titles  of  works  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  many 
written  in  Latin  —  poetry,  history,  biography,  works  on  legal 
and  medical  subjects,  on  heraldry,  family  documents,  miscel- 
laneous pieces  like  ' '  A  Declaration  of  the  Receipts  of  the  Treas- 
ury of  England  from  Mich.  1604  to  Easter  following,"  political 
writings  like  "Arguments  for  Ship  money;  Pro.  and  Con."  and 
a  mass  of  theological  and  religious  writing.  Many  of  these  man- 
uscripts probably  were  beautifully  executed  too,  for  after  some 
of  their  titles  the  cataloguer  has  written  "Liber  elegans  et  or- 
natus. "  In  addition  to  this  large  collection  of  Mss.,  now  long 
since  scattered,  a  catalogue  of  books  and  Mss.  also  owned  by  this 
remarkable  man,  and  still  preserved  at  Naworth,  contains  two 
hundred  and  forty-two  titles  of  works  on  theological,  contro- 
versial, historical,  legal,  classical  and  miscellaneous  subjects,  the 
entire  catalogue  filling  some  seventeen  large  octavo  pages.33 

Information  of  this  same  sort  could  be  gleaned  from  most 
household  account  books ;  for  book  and  Mss.  buying  and  reading 
were  much  practised  interests  among  the  noblemen  of  the  Tudor 
period.  It  is  very  noteworthy  also,  that  many  of  books  which 
noblemen  bought  were  by  contemporary  writers,  so  that  if  all 
noblemen  read  as  carefully  as  Lord  William  Howard 's  annotated 
pages  proclaim  that  he  did,  they  must  have  been  an  alert  and 
well-informed  part  of  the  population. 

31  Catalogues,  etc.,  in  Archaeologia,  48-1,  152-153. 

32  Household  Books  of  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth  Castle,  Preface, 
Ixii. 

33  Ibid.,  470  et  seq. 


238  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 

With  these  very  brief  notes  on  a  subject  well  worthy  of  a  com- 
plete and  careful  study,  I  bid  farewell  to  my  noble  householders 
and  their  faithful  book-keepers.  How  widely,  I  wonder,  have  I 
mistaken  their  ancient  doings !  This  I  can  affirm,  that  my  study 
of  their  household  accounts,  which  reflect  so  faithfully  their  do- 
mestic life  in  all  its  interesting  phases,  has  bred  in  me  a  very 
great  admiration,  nay,  a  warm  feeling  of  affection  for  the  once 
vigorous  and  ever  illustrious  men  of  the  Tudor  Nobility,  truly  a 
stalwart  and  a  mighty  race!  Despite  this,  though,  I  alas!  like 
my  beloved  friend  Richard  Brathwait,  would  gladly  consign  my 
painful  work  to  a  well-deserved  oblivion,  fearfully,  out-of-hand, 
as  he  attempted  to  do  in  his  very  self-abnegating  coda,  winding 
up  his  remarkable  little  treatise:  "As  in  the  beginning  I  pro- 
tested I  had  neither  president  nor  recorde  to  followe,  so  doe  I 
now  further  affirme  (and  that  moste  truly e)  that  in  my  time  I 
have  not  seene  any,  and  so  may  you  guesse  by  this  my  worthlesse 
worke,  which  is  so  harsh  and  unpleasante  that  I  thincke  you  will 
be  as  weary  in  the  reading  as  I  of  the  writing,  but  if  you  be, 
blame  yourself  e;  for  as  I  entend  not  to  maintaine  errours  com- 
mitted, noe  more  will  I  excuse  faultes  escaped,  and  as  it  is  pri- 
vate for  yourself  so  make  it  not  publicke  to  my  disgrace. " ! 34 


34  Brathwait,  50. 


APPENDIX  A 


SIR  THOMAS  LOVELL'S  SERVANTS  IN  1522 

(Extracts  from  Household  Accounts,  Hist.  Mss.  Com.,  Mss.  of 
the  Duke  of  Rutland,  vol.  4,  pp.  260-262.) 

Among  the  chief  officials  are  a  Receiver,  an  "out  Steward"  of 
all  the  lands  in  York,  a  house  Steward,  an  Auditor,  and  with 
these  one  "Robert  Roth,  of  Endfeld,  esquyre,  reteigned  of  coun- 
cell, ' '  who  was  hired  for  that  year  at  least. 


Chapleyns  — 

Sir  Cuthbert  Lyghtefote,  prest 

Sir  Henry  Sperke,  prest 

Sir  Henry  Smyth,  prest 

Gentylmen  Wayters  — 

(There  are  ten  named.) 

"Offycers" 

Clerke  of  the  kechyn 

Yoman  of  the  celler 

Ussher  of  the  hall 

Yoman  of  the  botry  —  2 

Catour 

Yoman  of  the  lardour 

Cooke  —  3 

Squyllyon 

Har atelier  (ostler) 

Tumour  of  the  broches 

Keper  of  the  garner 

Baker  —  3 

Brewer 

Underbrewer 

Yoman  of  your  warderobe 

Grome  of  the  warderobe 

Portour 

Slawterman  and  maker  of  your  tal- 

ow  candelles  for  lightes 
Keper  of  your  wodde  and  coole 
Yomen  wayters  — 16 


Servantes  exercising  their  faculteis  - 

Fawkener  —  2 

Hunte  (huntsman) 

Warner  (warrener) 

Orgonpleyer 

Keper  of  the  beiberne  and  sumpter- 

hors 

Keper  of  your  gardeyn 
Carpenter 
Joynour 
Browderer 
Armourer 
Carpetmaker 
Hedgeer 
Cowper 
Mylner 
Shepperde 

Keper  of  the  Deyery  groundes 
Attending  on  the  children  —  1 
Wafermaker 
Horsekepers  —  6 
Carters  and  laborers  —  7 
Keper  of  the  deyery  and  her  2  ser- 

vauntes,  lawnderers 
Keper  of  the  pulletrye 
At  Haliwell  — 
Margaret    Fisher,    keeper    of    your 

place  there 
Nicholas  Bemond,  gardner. 


239 


240  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [514 

SERVANTS  OF  THE  EARL  OF  RUTLAND  IN  1539 
Op.  cit.,  p.  296  et  seq. 


Treasorer 

Comptroller 

Gentylwomen  wayters  —  6  regularly 

and  3  others  at  times 
Chapelyns  —  4,  and  in  two  quarters 

1  other 
Fyzytyon  —  Doctor  Gwynne    (name 

cancelled  in  this  quarter;   in  the 

3  other  quarters  without  any  fee). 
Potycares  —  Maister    (blank    in    all 

quarters) . 
Secretores  —  1 
Gentylmen  Ussers  —  2 
Gentylmen  Waters  —  9  and  1  added 

in  3  quarters. 
Seole  Masters  —  1 
Clerks  of  the  Kiehen  —  3,  and  in  3 

quarters  —  2. 
Yeomen  Ushers  —  2 
Yemen  Waters  of  the  Chambur  —  8 
Gromes  of  the  Chamber  —  5 
Seller  —  2 
Pantre  —  2 
Buttre  —  3,  at  times. 
Ewerye  —  1 

Ussers  of  the  Halle  —  2 
Warderope  —  5 
Mynstrelles  —  2 
Porters  —  2 
Bakers  —  5,    apparently   not    all    on 

at  once. 
Bruers  —  3,  not  all  at  one  time. 


Stable  —  7,  not  all  at  once. 

Yemen  Cokes  —  2 

Gromes  of  the  Kiehen  —  4 

Lardermen  —  2 

Aumers  —  1    (Almoners) 

Scullerye  —  1 

Gardyners  —  2 

(Armorers  —  1) 

Huntes  —  1 

Caters  —  1 

Waryners  —  1  (warreners) 

Kepers  of  Hay  —  2 

Slaughtermen  —  1 

(Smythe  — 1) 

Cowpers 

Sheperdes  —  3 

Bargemen  —  1 

Women  of  the  Laundre  —  5 

Dare  Women  —  1 

Pultre  Women 

Kepers  of  Hallywell  —  1 

Kepers  of  Pastures  —  3 

Myllers  —  1 

Maser    Scowrers  —  2     (Mazers, 

wooden  bowls) 
Joners  —  2    (joiners) 
(Waterdrawers  —  1) 
(Glaysers  —  2) 

(Carpynters  —  1,  and  servant) 
(Carters  —  2) 
(Tillers  — 1) 
(Surgyons  —  1) 


SUMMARY  OF  RICHARD  BERTIE'S  HOUSEHOLD  IN 

1560-62 

Extracts  from  his  Household  Books,  printed  in  Hist.  Mss.  Com. 
Report  on  the  Mss.  of  the  Earl  of  Ancaster,  1907,  pp.  459-60. 

The  Master;  his  Lady,  the  Countess;  the  Children  —  Mr. 
Peregrine  and  Mistress  Susan,  and  the  Lady  Elinor.  Among 
the  servants  were  the  following :  Steward,  Comptroller,  Preach- 


515]  SUMMARY    OF    HENRY   EARL  241 

er,  Cofferer,  A  Master  of  Horses,  Gentlemen  Ushers,  Gentlemen 
Waiters,  Clerk  of  the  Provisions,  Father  Fryer  —  yeoman  of  the 
Cellar,  Anthony  Pigott —  butler,  A  Pantler,  yeomen  ushers, 
grooms,  yeomen  of  the  wardrobe,  cooks,  children  of  the  kitchen, 
Grooms  of  the  stable,  gentlemen  servants  and  a  number  of  gen- 
tlemen, and  women  servants. 

SUMMARY  OF  HENRY  EARL  OF  WORCESTER'S 
SERVANTS 

(From  a  description  by  an  old  servant,  written  in  1694,  ".  .  .  to 

the  best  of  my  personal  remembrance."    Hist.  Mss.  Com., 

12th  Report,  Pt.  9,  pp.  5  et  seq. 

Steward,  the  Duke's  Tutor,  Comptroller,  Auditor  and  Secre- 
tary, Master  of  Horse.  His  gentlemen  waiters  and  pages.  His 
Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  and  Yeomen  Officers  of  the  house  —  Groom 
of  the  Chamber,  Ushers  of  the  Hall,  etc.  (This  list  is  necessarily 
incomplete,  for  it  is  compiled  from  this  old  servant's  description 
of  the  way  dinner  used  to  be  served  in  the  house,  and  his  em- 
phasis is  not  on  the  servants.) 


APPENDIX  B 

THE  ESSENTIAL  SERVANTS  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF 
A  NOBLEMAN 

as  seen  in  ' '  A  Breviate  Touching  the  Order  and  Government  of  a 
Nobleman's  House,"  etc.  1605.  Archaeologia  xiii,  pp.  315  et  seq. 

The  head  officers  are  Steward,  Comptroller,  Surveyor,  Re- 
ceiver, and  Auditor.  In  the  rank  and  file  are  the  Gentleman 
Usher,  the  Gentleman  of  the  Horse,  a  Learned  Steward,  the  Clerk 
of  the  Kitchen,  Yeoman  Usher  of  the  Great  Chamber,  and  one  of 
the  Hall,  and  the  other  customary  Yeomen  —  Ewery,  Cellar, 
Pantry,  Buttery,  Wardrobe,  Horse,  Caskes,  Larder,  Garner,  Yeo- 
man Porter,  Baker,  Brewer,  Yeoman  of  the  Scullery,  and  finally, 
a  Cator,  or  Caterer,  and  a  Slaughterman.  This  list  is  also  in- 
complete for  there  is  no  mention  of  cooks,  for  example. 


242 


APPENDIX  C 
OF  BREADS  USED  BY  THE  ENGLISH  NOBILITY 

Harrison  describes  the  English  Breads  of  his  day  as  follows: 
' '  The  bread  through  out  the  land  is  made  of  such  graine  as  the 
soile  yeeldeth,  neuerthelesse  the  gentilitie  commonlie  prouide 
themselues  sufficientlie  of  wheat  for  their  owne  tables,  whilest 
their  household  and  poore  neighbours  in  some  shires  are  inforced 
to  content  themselues  with  rie,  or  barleie,  yea  and  in  time  of 
dearth  manie  with  bread  made  either  of  beans,  peason,  or  otes, 
or  of  altogither  and  some  acornes  among,  of  which  scourge  the 
poorest  does  soonest  tast,  sith  they  are  least  able  to  prouide  of 
better.  .  .  Of  bread  made  of  wheat  we  haue  sundrie  sorts, 
dailie  brought  to  table,  whereof  the  first  and  most  excellent  is 
the  mainchet,  which  we  commonlie  call  white  bread  .  .  . 
and  our  good  workemen  deliuer  commonlie  such  proportion,  that 
of  the  flower  of  one  bushell  with  another  they  make  fortie  cast 
of  manchet,  of  which  euerie  lofe  weigheth  eight  ounces  into  the 
ouen,  and  six  ounces  out,  as  I  ha.ue  been  informed.  The  second 
is  the  cheat  or  wheaton  bread,  so  named  bicause  the  colour  therof 
resembleth  the  graie  or  yellowish  wheat,  being  cleane  and  well 
dressed,  and  out  of  this  is  the  coursest  of  the  bran  (vsuallie 
called  gurgeons  or  pollard)  taken.  The  raueled  is  a  kind  of 
cheat  bread  also,  but  it  reteineth  more  of  the  grosse,  and  lesse  of 
the  pure  substance  of  the  wheat:  and  this  being  more  sleightlie 
wrought  vp,  is  vsed  in  the  halles  of  the  nobilitie,  and  gentrie 
onelie,  whereas  the  other  either  is  or  should  be  baked  in  cities  & 
good  townes  of  an  appointed  size  (according  to  such  price  as  the 
come  dooth  beare)  and  by  a  statute  prouided  by  king  lohn  in 
that  behalfe.  The  raueled  cheat  therfore  is  generallie  so  made 
out  of  one  bushell  of  meale,  after  two  and  twentie  pounds  of  bran 
sifted  and  taken  from  it  (wherevnte  they  ad  the  gurgeons  that 
rise  from  the  manchet)  they  make  thirtie  cast,  euerie  lofe  weigh- 

243 


244  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A    TUDOR   NOBLEMAN  [518 

ing  eighteen  ounces  into  the  ouen  and  sixteene  ounces  out ;  and 
beside  this  they  so  handle  the  matter  that  to  euerie  bushell  of 
meale  they  ad  onelie  two  and  twentie  or  three  and  twentie  pound 
of  water,  washing  also  in  some  houses  there  corne  before  it  go  to 
the  mill,  whereby  their  manchet  bread  is  more  excellent  in  colour 
and  pleasing  to  the  eie,  than  otherwise  it  would  be.  The  next 
sort  is  named  browne  bread  of  the  colour,  of  which  we  haue  two 
sorts,  one  baked  vp  as  it  cometh  from  the  mill,  so  that  neither  the 
bran  nor  the  floure  are  anie  whit  diminished.  .  .  The  other 
hath  little  or  no  floure  at  all,  .  .  .  and  it  is  not  onlie  the 
woorst  and  weakest  of  all  the  other  sorts,  but  also  appointed  in 
old  time  for  seruants,  slaues,  and  the  inferiour  kind  of  people  to 
feed  vpon.  Herevnto  likewise,  bicause  it  is  drie  and  brickie  in 
the  working  (for  it  will  hardlie  be  made  vp  handsomelie  into 
loaues)  some  adde  a  portion  of  rie  meale  in  our  time,  wherby  the 
rough  drinesse  or  the  drie  roughness  therof  is  somewhat  quali- 
fied, &  then  it  is  named  misclin,  that  is,  bread  made  of  mingled 
corne,  albeit  that  diuerse  doo  sow  or  mingle  wheat  &  rie  of  set 
purpose  at  the  mill,  or  before  it  come  there,  and  sell  the  same  at 
the  markets  vnder  the  aforesaid  name."  —  Holinshed,  Vol.  1, 
pp.  283-284. 

In  1469,  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  issued  the  following  rule  to 
his  bakers :  ' '  ITEM,  It  is  appoynted  that  there  be  in  the  bake- 
house a  yeoman,  a  groome,  and  a  page ;  and  that  they  bake  daily, 
.  .  .  payne-mayneys  at  every  second  daye,  manchete  brede 
and  rounde  brede  for  housholde,  proportionably  to  the  numbyr 
of  the  same;  and  that  they  make  of  every  bushell  of  whete  xxx 
lofes,  weyinge  to  the  ovyn  xxx  ounces,  and  well  baken  xxviii 
ounces  of  goode  paste ;  and  halfe  that  weight  for  small  breade  for 
leyvereyes;  takinge  alweye  twoe  payne-maynes,  and  twoe  man- 
chettes,  for  the  lofe;  and  that  they  be  ready  to  bake  brede  for 
horses  and  houndes,  the  branne  alweye  reserved  to  that  use  of 
the  said  Duke;  alsoe,  that  the  seid  brede  be  wayed  in  the  count- 
ing-house, as  of te  as  it  shall  be  nedeful ;  and  if  the  weights  or  the 
paste  be  not  suffieiaunte,  then  the  tresspassoures  to  be  punished 
after  theire  desertes." —  Household  Ordinances,  pp.  91-92. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  16th  century,  Edward,  Earl  of  Der- 
by 's  bread  receipts  were  these :  — 


519]  ESSENTIAL  SERVANTS  OF  A  NOBLEMAN  245 

"BREADE  viz. 

"  Of  a  Pecke  of  Wheate  &  lieke  quantitie  of  Barly  mingled  to- 

Of  a  Pecke  of  Wheat  &  lieke  quantitie  of  Barly  mingled  to- 
gether there  is  made  of  household  breade  xxxti  caste  conteyning 
threescore  loifes.  IT'M  of  every  mette  of  fyne  wheate  made  in 
Manchetts  there  is  fyve  score  coste  of  manchets  conteyning  ten- 
score  manchettes. 
"DREDGE  viz. 

' '  Of  every  Windle  or  mette  of  wheate  baken  in  grate  loffes  for 
Dredge  to  the  Kitchen  there  is  made  Sixe  loffes."  —  Stanley 
Papers,  Part  2,  p.  12. 

In  1512,  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  ordered  "horse-bread" 
baked  from  beans,  one  quarter  of  which  made  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  loaves.  His  bread  for  household  was  made  after 
the  following  proportions :  —  "  ITEM  it  is  Ordered  ande  Agreide 
by  my  Lorde  his  Heed  Officers  ande  Counsaill  that  the  Baker 
shall  Aunswarr  my  Lorde  of  every  Quarter  of  Wheet  in  Man- 
chetts DCXL  after  ij  Maunchetts  to  a  Loof  Of  household  Breed 
cciiij  score  ande  of  Trencher  Breed  cciiij  score  bicause  the  Loofs 
of  the  Trenchor  Breed  be  larger  than  the  Loofs  of  Household 
Breed."  —  Northumberland  Household  Book,  pp.  122-123,  134. 

Richard  Brathwait  describes  the  duties  of  the  Yeoman  Baker 
thus :  ' '  The  Yeoman  Baker  should  be  skilf ull  in  his  occupation, 
to  make  his  manchet  and  bonnes  white,  light,  well  seasoned,  and 
crusted;  his  sippet  breade  in  high  loaves,  set  in  the  oven  close 
together,  that  on  the  sides  they  may  have  little  or  noe  crust,  and 
as  small  bottomes  and  toppes  as  may  be,  for  they  are  to  be  cutt 
into  sippets  and  to  dredge  meat  withall,  the  crustes  onely  serve 
to  increase  the  Pantlers  fees.  He  is  to  make  cheate  bread  of 
three  sortes;  fine  cheat,  middle  cheate,  and  course  cheate;  every 
of  these  is  to  be  well  leavened,  kneaded,  moulded,  and  baked: 
for  if  the  baker  will  not  take  paines  in  his  kneading  and  mould- 
ing, though  the  Come  be  good,  the  bread  will  be  nought.  He 
and  the  groome  must  be  skilfull  and  carefull  in  heating  the 
Ovens,  for  if  they  be  either  too  hott  or  too  slacke,  the  paines  they 
have  taken  in  kneading  and  moulding,  by  the  ill  baking,  will  be 
disgraced.  .  ."  —  Brathwait,  op.  tit.,  pp.  36-37. 


APPENDIX  D 
FRESH  AGATES 

In  1512,  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  provided  for  the  pur- 
chase throughout  the  year  of  the  following  "cates"  or  "Fresh 
Acates"  — 

Capon,  pigs,  geese,  chickens,  hens,  pidgeons,  conies,  swans, 
plovers,  crains,  heronsews,  mallards,  teals,  woodcocks,  wipes,  sea- 
gulls, stints,  quails,  snipes,  partridges,  redshanks,  bitterns,  feas- 
ants  reys,  scolards,  kerlews,  peacocks,  wild-fowls,  sea-pies, 
wegions,  knots,  dotterells,  bustard,  terns,  great  birds,  small  birds, 
larks,  bacon  flicks,  eggs  and  milk.  —  Household,  Book,  102-108. 

Fresh  Acates  at  Wallaton  in  1523,  included  the  following 
items :  — 

Fish,  including  conger  and  porpoise,  river  fish,  mussels,  cock- 
els,  oysters,  crabs,  mustard,  bread,  honey,  raisins,  figs,  almonds, 
eggs,  chickens,  sparrows,  vinegar,  wine,  ale,  pigeons,  capons, 
wood-cocks,  etc.  —  Mss.  of  Lord  Middleton,  362. 

In  1612,  Lord  William  Howard  of  Naworth,  purchased  the 
following  cates,  his  purchases  running  right  through  the  year :  — 

Fowls,  eggs,  salmon,  moorcock,  mallards,  stockdoves,  black- 
cock, hares,  woodcock,  pigs,  herrings,  cockles,  leeks,  trout, 
shrimps,  thornbacks,  fresh  cod,  lobster,  crabs,  lambs,  veal  head 
and  feet,  kid,  a  side  of  mutton,  teals,  sturgeon,  curlew,  throsells, 
butter,  geese,  seal,  plovers,  lapwings,  ducks,  porpoise,  young 
salmon,  flounders,  whitings,  eels,  turbot,  bret  (a  fish  like  turbot), 
ringdoves,  sheldrakes,  wimeons,  teal,  dowcker,  godwits,  red- 
shanks, sea-pies,  cheese,  etc.  —  Hoiiseliold  Books  of  Lord  William 
Howard,  20  et  seq. 


246 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ORDINANCES  AND  HOUSEHOLD  REGULATIONS 

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mente  of  a  nobleman's  house,  with  the  officers,  theire  places 
and  chardge,  as  perticularly  apearethe.  Communicated  to  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  by  Joseph  Banks,  and  printed  in 
Archaeologia,  XIII,  315-389.  This  document,  dated  1605,  is 
unsigned,  and  the  only  clue  to  its  origin  lies  in  the  words  of 
the  author  at  the  end  of  the  piece  — ' '  These  f ewe  notes  within 
written  I  have  thought  good  to  sett  doune  for  the  better  under- 
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to  moste  good  husbands,  with  many  other  secrets,  they  bee 
better  knowne  than  I  ether  cann  or  will  take  upon  me  to  ex- 
press. ' '  The  treatise  is  divided  into  three  parts :  the  first  nar- 
rates the  functions  of  all  the  servants;  the  second  is  a  complete 
list  of  provisions  and  menus  for  an  entire  year,  while  the  third 
contains  general  instructions  about  management  —  farming 
details,  etc.,  addressed  particularly  to  Officers  like  the  Steward 
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and  must  have  been  written  by  an  experienced  man. 

BRATHWAIT,  RICHARD.  Some  rules  and  orders  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  house  of  an  earle.  London,  1821.  This  is  the 
eighth  tract  in  the  Miscellanea  Antiqua  Anglicana.  The  work 
of  the  poet  and  man  of  letters,  Richard  Brathwait,  this  little 
treatise  of  fifty  printed  pages  displays  a  remarkable  acquaint- 
ance with  the  details  of  household  management  on  the  part  of 
the  author,  though  it  is  not  apparent  from  his  biography  that 
Brathwait  was  ever  in  service.  Affirming  that  he  wrote  it  at 
the  request  of  a  friend,  and  that  he  had  "neither  President 
nor  Recordes"  to  help  his  memory,  he  describes  in  lively,  naive 
fashion,  the  characters  of  the  Officers  and  servants  in  a  house- 
hold, interspersing  his  criticisms  on  Church  and  State,  and  on 

247 


248  THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN  [522 

manners  and  customs,  in  a  delightful  way.  He  was,  he  says, 
above  three-score  years  of  age  when  he  wrote  the  piece,  and 
according  to  one  of  his  biographers,  it  was  not  printed  during 
Brath wait's  life.  The  author  was  born  in  1588  and  died  in 
1673.  See,  for  an  interesting  account  of  the  man  and  his 
work,  the  Barnabae  Itinerarium,  new  edition,  revised,  by  "W. 
C.  Hazlitt,  London,  1876. 

BURGHLEY,  WILLIAM  CECIL,  LORD.  Precepts  or  directions  for 
the  well  ordering  and  carriage  of  a  man's  life.  Printed  in 
Peck,  Desiderata  Curiosa.  London,  1731. 

CLARENCE,  GEORGE,  DUKE  OP.  Household  ordinances,  A.  D. 
1469.  From  a  copy  in  the  library  of  the  Society  of  Anti- 
quaris.  This  is  the  sixth  document  printed  in  "A  collection 
of  ordinances  and  regulations  of  the  royal  household.  .  ." 
Printed  for  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lort,  Mr.  Gough,  Mr.  Topham  and  Mr.  Brand. 
London,  1790.  A  very  interesting  document  containing  both 
ordinances  and  household  expenses.  Cited  as  Royal  House- 
hold Ordinances. 

DERBY,  JAMES  STANLEY,  7ra  EARL  OF.  Private  devotions  and 
miscellanies.  Edited,  with  a  prefatory  memoir  and  appendix 
of  documents,  by  the  Rev.  Canon  Raines,  M.A.,  F.S.A.,  for 
the  Chetham  Society.  London,  1841.  (Part  3,  vol.  3  of  the 
Stanley  Papers.)  See  p.  24,  note. 

NORTHUMBERLAND,  HENRY  PERCY,  9TH  EARL  OF.  Instructions  to 
his  son,  Algernon  Percy,  touching  the  management  of  his 
estate,  officers,  &c.,  written  during  his  confinement  in  the 
Tower.  Communicated  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  by  James 
Haywood  Markland,  Esq.,  and  printed  in  Archaeologia, 
XXVII,  306-358.  "These  instructions  were  transcribed  by 
Mr.  Malone  from  a  Mss.  preserved  in  the  library  at  Pet- 
worth.  .  .  They  form  the  2nd  of  three  treatises,  all  of 
which  were  written  by  Henry  Earl  of  Northumberland,  and 
addressed  to  his  son.  The  first,  written  in  1595,  consists  of 
thirty-three  pages,  and  is  without  a  title ;  but  we  may  gather 
from  the  introductory  paragraph  of  the  following  paper,  that 
its  object  was  similar  to  the  present  one :  .  .  ."  This  doc- 
ument is  dated  according  to  Malone,  1609.  There  are  good 
notes  and  an  historical  introduction. 


523]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  249 

WOLSEY,  THOMAS.  An  Order  .  .^  .  to  lymitt  John  Earle  of 
Oxenford  in  the  orderinge  of  his  expenses  of  Household  .  .  . 
(etc.).  Communicated  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  by  Mr. 
Henry  Ellis,  and  printed  in  Archaeologia,  XIX,  62-65. 

HOUSEHOLD  BOOKS 

BERTIE,  RICHARD  (LORD  WILLOUGHBY).  Selections  from  the 
household  accounts  of,  (1560-1562).  Selected  and  edited  from 
the  Mss.  at  Grimsthrope  House,  by  Mrs.  S.  C.  Lomas.  Hist. 
Mss.  Comm.,  1907.  Cited  Grimsthorpe  House  Papers. 

DERBY,  EDWARD  AND  HENRY,  EARLS  OP.  Household  Books  of,  to- 
gether with  a  diary  containing  the  names  of  the  guests  who 
visited  the  latter  Earl  at  his  Houses  in  Lancashire:  by  the 
Comptroller  William  ffarington,  Esq.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  F. 
R.  Raines,  for  the  Chetham  Society,  Manchester,  1853.  (Be- 
ing the  2nd  part  of  the  Stanley  Papers.)  The  accounts  cover 
parts  of  the  years  from  1561-1590. 

FAIRFAX,  SIR  WILLIAM.  Selections  from  the  household  books  of, 
(1571-1582).  Edited  from  the  Mss.  of  Sir  George  Wombwell, 
Newburgh  Priory,  Yorkshire,  by  Mrs.  S.  C.  Lomas.  Hist.  Mss. 
Comm.  (In  Report  on  the  Mss.  in  various  collections,  2, 
67-86.) 

HOWARD,  LORD  WILLIAM  (OF  NA WORTH  CASTLE).  Selections 
from,  the  household  books  of,  Selected  and  edited,  with  an  ap- 
pendix containing  some  of  his  papers  and  letters,  and  other 
documents  illustrative  of  his  life  and  times,  by  Rev.  George 
Ornsby,  Surtees  Society,  London,  1878.  The  household  books 
preserved  are  twelve  in  number,  falling  between  the  years 
1612-1640.  Those  for  the  years  1612  and  1633  are  presented 
entire  in  this  volume.  The  work  is  nicely  edited  with  careful 
introduction  and  notes  and  a  full  index. 

NORFOLK,  JOHN  HOWARD,  IST  DUKE  OF.  Accounts  and  Memori- 
als, A.  D.  1462-1471.  Edited  by  T.  Hudson  Turner,  Rox- 
burghe  Club,  London,  1841.  This  is  the  last  and  longest  part 
of  the  Manners  and  Household  Expenses  of  England,  being 
pp.  Ixxv-xcii  and  149-621  of  that  work.  It  consists  of  the 
household  and  other  expenses,  some  letters,  etc.,  of  Lord  John 
Howard.  There  is  a  good  introduction,  but  few  notes  and 
no  index. 


250  THE  HOUSEHOLD  OP  A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN  [524 

NORFOLK,  JOHN,  DUKE  OF,  AND  THOMAS,  EARL  OF  SURREY. 
Household  books  of,  Temp.  1481-1490.  Edited  from  the  origi- 
nal Mss.  in  the  library  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  London, 
by  John  P.  Collier,  Roxburghe  Club,  London,  1844.  There  is 
a  good  historical  introduction  and  useful  notes. 

NORTH,  LORD.  Extracts  from  the  household  charges  of,  Selec- 
tions communicated  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  by  William 
Stevenson,  Esq.,  of  Norwich,  and  printed  in  Archaeologia, 
XIX,  283-301.  (Extracts  from  1575-1581.) 

NORTHUMBERLAND,  HENRY  ARGEKNON  PERCY,  STH  EARL  OF.  The 
Regulations  and  Establishment  of  the  household  of,  Edited  by 
T.  P.  (Thomas  Percy).  London,  1827.  This  household  book, 
nicely  edited  with  a  preface  and  notes,  is  the  best  and  most 
complete  picture  of  the  household  as  an  organization  which  I 
have  been  able  to  find. 

ROXBURGHE,  ROBERT,  IST  EARL  OF.  Selections  from  the  house- 
hold books  of,  Selected  and  edited  from  the  Mss.  of  the  Duke 
of  Roxburghe.  Hist  Mss.  Comm.,  14th  Report,  Pt  3,  1894. 

RUTLAND,  EARLS  OF.  Selections  from  the  household  accounts  of 
Sir  Thomas  Lovell  and  the,  (1523-1699).  Selected  and  edited 
by  Sir  H.  Maxwell  Lyte  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Stevenson,  from  the 
Mss.  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland.  Hist.  Mss.  Comm.,  vol.  4,  260- 
573,  London,  1905. 

WILLOUGHBYS,  OF  WALLATON.  Extracts  from  the  household 
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Mss.  Comm.,  1911.  Cited  Lord  Middleton's  Mss. 

MISCELLANEOUS  MATERIAL 

AUSTIN,  THOMAS.  Two  fifteenth  century  cookery  books.  Ed- 
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BROOKE,  MR.  The  ceremonial  of  making  the  king's  bed.  Ex- 
tracted from  an  original  manuscript  from  the  library  of  Henry 
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FAIRFAX,  SIR  WILLIAM  AND  SIR  THOMAS.  Inventories  made  for, 
Printed  in  Archaeologia,  48-1,  121-156. 

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525]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  251 

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HARRISON,  WILLIAM.  Description  of  England.  Edited  by  Fred- 
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NUNCIUS,  NICANDER.  Second  book  of  travels.  Edited  from  the 
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J.  A.  Cramer,  D.D.  Camden  Society,  London,  1841. 

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1865. 

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the  island  of  England ;  with  sundry  particulars  of  the  customs 
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STOW,  JOHN.  Annales,  or  a  generall  chronicle  of  England. 
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STUBBES,  PHILIP.  Anatomy  of  the  abuses  in  England  in  Shake- 
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WORCESTER,  HENRY,  EARL  OF.  Two  .separate  accounts  by  an  old 
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SUGGESTIVE  SECONDARY  WORKS 

DENTON,  REV.  W.     England  in  the  fifteenth  century.     London, 

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by  Miss  Mary  Bateson  and  Mr.  George  Saintsbury,  and  others 

by  Miss  Bateson  in  volume  four. 
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England  during  the  middle  ages.     London,  1862. 


INDEX 


Abbey,  Warden,  St.  Anne's  Gild  at, 
201 

Acates  (fresh  aeates  or  cates), 
meaning  of  term,  117;  purchases 
of,  by  noblemen,  117;  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland's  ruling  up- 
on, 120;  summaries  of,  246 

Accounts,  for  household  supplies,  86 
et  seq.;  kept  by  Gentleman  of  the 
Horse,  219 

Achator,  see  Cator 

Adylton,  fair,  108,  110 

Ale,  72 ;  amount  used  by  Lord  North 
at  entertainment  of  Elizabeth,  78; 
mention,  84 

Alexandria,  Appian  of,  236 

Alicant  raisins,  84 

Allhallows,  festival,  179;  hermit  of 
122 

Almonds,  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land's yearly  supply  of,  80;  men- 
tion, 84 

Almoner,  the,  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  13;  du- 
ties of  the,  165,  189,  193;  ser- 
vitor, 177 

Alms,  dispensed  by  noblemen,  188 
et  seq.;  food  as,  192  et  seq. 

Alms-tub,  the,  192,  and  note 

Altar  cloths,  180 

Altar  fronts,  181 

Altar  hangings,  180 

Americas,  fruits  from  the,  73 

Amet,  John,  the  bed  of,  208 

Anchorite,  gifts  to  a  female,  201 

Anchovies,  73,  79 

Andrewe,  Lawrence,  68-69 

"Andulees,"  74 

Anise  powder,  81 


Ansley,  103 

Antiphonary,  180,  and  note 

Apples,  73 

"Arming,"  of  the  Carver,  etc.,  157- 

158 
Armorer,  wages  in  household  of  5th 

Earl   of   Northumberland   of   the, 

53 

Armorers,   duties  of   the,   215-216 
Armory,    children    on    duty    in,    14; 

Yeomen  and  Groom  of  the,  21;  of 

noblemen,  213  et  seq. 
Arras,   care   of   the,   81;    stores   of, 

owned  by  noblemen,  206 
Arras-man,    wages   in   household   of 

5th    Earl    of    Northumberland    of 

the,  53 
Arras-mender,  servitor,  14,  and  note, 

16 

Arrows,  "dressing"  of,  215-216 
Artichokes,  72 
Arundell,   Earl   of,    Instructions   of, 

to  his  son,  32-33 
Ascension  day,  fair  on,  108 
Ascension  eve,  festival,   179 
Aspinowle,  William,  15 
Assay,  the  food,  159,  160 
Assignment,    an    official,    for   house- 
hold supplies,  87 
Audit,    the    Surveyor    at,    137;    the 

declaration  of  the,  144  et  seq. 
Auditor,    household    officer,    15,    17, 

21,   135,   and  note;   his  functions, 

136  and  note,  137,  143 
Aukes,  as  food,  67 
Avenar,  the  Clerk.  15,  and  note,  132; 

his  functions,  133 
Bachelor  Knights,  220 
Bacon,  a  staple  food,  70,  78,  83 


252 


527] 


INDEX 


253 


Badges,   for  servants,  9,  59 

Bailiffs,  under  the  Steward,  103; 
rental  books  for  the,  137 

Bakehouse,  children  on  duty  in,  14; 
fuel  regulations  by  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland  for  his,  89 

Bakers,  servitors,  16,  18;  the  fees 
of,  57,  58;  temptations  before  the 
Yeomen,  58;  surveillance  of,  by 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  90, 
91;  the  brevements  of,  131,  134; 
duties  of  the  Yeomen,  245 

Balm,  water  of,  82 

Bandora,  the,  232 

Barberries,  73 

Barbican,  residence  of  Lord  Wil- 
loughby  in  the,  223 

Barley,  year's  supply  of,  for  Earl 
of  Eutland,  84;  mention,  95 

Barnacles,  as  food,  67 

"Bayninge,"  a  bird,  as  food,  67 

Bay  salt,  81,  84 

Beans,   72 

Bear  wards,  230 

Beef,  as  staple  food,  71;  yearly  sup- 
ply of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 80;  regulations  for  buy- 
ing, for  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 111;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
Earl  of  Eutland,  83;  source  of 
supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Eutland, 
103,  111 

Beer,  72;  amount  used  weekly,  by 
Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  77-78; 
amount  used  by  Lord  North  for 
entertainment  of  Elizabeth,  78; 
average  daily  consumption  of,  80; 
on  the  livery  service,  152;  at  Len- 
ten breakfasts,  180 

Bedding,  care  of  the,  203;  amount 
and  kinds  used,  204  et  seq.;  re- 
moval of,  at  change  of  residence, 
225,  226 

Bed  rooms,  care  of  the,  202-203 ;  du- 
ties of  servitors  of,  203  et  seq. 

Beds,  equipment  of  the,  204  et  seq.; 
ceremony  of  making,  206  et  seq. 


Belvoir,  Castle,  supplies  brought  to, 
110;  entertainment  of  King  James 
at,  122 ;  miscellaneous  amusement 
at,  230;  music  at,  232,  234;  mus- 
ical instruments  at,  233 

Berkley,  Lord,  players  of,  230 

Berners,  Lord  and  Lady,  17 

Bertie,  Eichard  (Lord  Willoughby), 
size  of  household  of,  in  16th  cen- 
tury, 10;  rewards  to  servants  by, 
37-38;  hia  interest  in  education 
of  his  servants,  42-43;  food  gifts 
received  by,  121;  Surveyor  does 
charity  for,  138;  financial  advice 
to,  by  one  of  his  servitors,  146- 
147,  his  alms,  190,  armory  of, 
214-215;  residence  of,  223;  miscel- 
laneous diversions  of,  229-230; 
summary  of  household  of,  in  1560- 
1562,  240-241 

Beskpark,  103 

Betonica,  water  of,  82 

Biblia  Magna  Jeronomi,  the,  236 

Bill,  an  official,  for  fuel  regulation, 
87-88,  and  note;  of  provision  "re- 
mainder," 102;  for  swans,  105, 
note;  for  entertainment  costs,  170- 
171 

Billet  wood,  88 

Bills,  of  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, for  servant  control,  45  et 
seq. 

Bingham  fair,  108 

Birds,  as  food,  66  et  seq.;  Mussett's 
receipts  for  preparing,  67  et  seq.; 
Harrison  on,  as  food,  69;  num- 
ber consumed  at  Lord  North's  en- 
tertainment of  Elizabeth,  78-79 

"Bird-taker,"    servitor,    19 

Birmingham  fair,  108 

Bishops,  gentlemen  trained  in  house- 
holds of,  32-33 

Biskwood  Park,  103 

Bittern,  receipt  for  preparing,  67; 
as  food,  79 

Blackstone,  Sir  Ealph,  Steward  to 
Henry,  Earl  of  Worcester,  27,  note 


254 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[528 


Blanch  powder,  81 

"Blonkett,"  a  bird,  as  food,  67 

Blyant,  Steward  to  Lord  John  How- 
ard, 55 

Board  end,  the,  13,  and  note;  waiter 
for  the,  150 

Boccaccio,  the  Philocopius  of,  236 

Boleyn,   Anne,   33 

Booke  of  hawkyn,  a,  237 

Books,  purchase  of,  by  noblemen, 
234  et  seq. 

Boston,  Gild  of  Our  Lady  of,  201; 
household  supplies  bought  at,  111 

Bowling  alleys  in  gardens  of  no- 
blemen, 220,  221 

Bows,  the  "dressing"  of,  215 

' '  Box, ' '  the,  for  gaming,  in  the 
Hall,  56;  in  the  withdrawing 
room,  56 

Braksted,   fair,   109 

Bran,  fee  of  the  Bakers,  57,  58 

Branson,  103 

Brass,  household  supply,  85 

Brass  pots,  83 

Brathwait,  Eichard,  on  the  model 
household,  20-21;  on  Gentlemen 
Ushers,  22,  151,  155,  174,  209; 
on  the  Officers  in  the  household, 
25,  29-30,  102,  107,  113,  138,  141 ; 
on  relatives  as  Carver  and  Sewer, 
27-28,  34-35;  advice  to  servants 
about  rewards,  40;  on  care  of  no- 
blemen, for  their  servants,  41-42; 
on  servants'  fees,  57;  on  fads  in 
cookery,  74  et  seq.;  on  the  Yeo- 
man purveyor,  110;  on  the  Master 
Cook,  124;  on  the  Auditor  and 
Eeceiver,  135,  note;  on  the  evi- 
dence house,  145-146;  on  music 
at  meals,  175;  on  the  duties  of 
the  Marshals,  176;  on  the  Chap- 
lain, 181-182,  193;  on  the  import 
of  divine  service  in  the  household, 
185  et  seq.;  on  alms  giving,  188; 
on  the  bed-room  servitors,  203- 
204;  on  armories,  213  et  seq.;  on 
the  Gentleman  of  the  Horse,  218; 


on  gardeners,  220-221 ;  on  the 
household  musicians,  229,  231-232; 
on  book-buying,  235;  on  the  Yeo- 
man Baker,  245 

Brawn,  a  receipt  for  making,  70, 
note;  mention,  83 

Bread,  ' '  chippings ' '  of,  fees  to  ser- 
vants, 56;  trencher,  57;  cheat,  78; 
cast  of,  78;  manchets,  78;  amount 
used  by  Lord  North  at  entertain- 
ment of  Elizabeth,  78;  on  storage 
of,  114-115;  on  livery  service,  152; 
at  Lenten  breakfast,  180;  order 
of  George,  Duke  of  Clarence  for 
his,  244;  Edward,  Earl  of  Der- 
by's receipt  for  his,  244-245; 
rules  of  the  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland for,  245;  Harrison  on 
the  English,  243-244 

Breakfast,  a  Lenten,  180 

Bream,  84,  92,  93 

' '  Breviate, ' '  the,  dietary  in,  66  et 
seq. 

Brevements,  Clerk  of  the,  15,  and 
note;  servant  check-roll  in  hands 
of  Clerk  of,  45-46;  duties  of 
Clerk  of,  in  connection  with  pay- 
ing servants,  51,  52;  duties  of 
Clerk  of,  in  connection  with  pro- 
visions, 120,  130  et  seq. ;  regula- 
tion for,  134;  special,  for  enter- 
tainments, 171 ;  duties  of  Clerk  of, 
at  removals,  224 

Proving,  monthly,  131 

Brewe,  as  food,  67 

Brewer,  servitor,  18 ;  the  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland 's  regulation 
for  his,  91 ;  brevements  of,  131 

Brewers,  servitors,  16;  temptations 
before,  58;  fees  of,  58 

Brew-house,  the  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland's fuel  regulation  for 
his,  89 

Brewing,  interest  of  Lord  John 
Howard  in  his,  97 

Bridges,  benevolences  for  repair  of, 
201 


529] 


INDEX 


255 


Bridles,   fees  to   servants,   56 

Bristow,  fair,  107 

Broadcloth,  for  liveries,  60 

''Broken  music,"   175 

"Broken  wine,"  use  of,  91 

Brooms,  household  supply,   85 

Buckingham,  Edward,  Duke  of,  hos- 
pitality of,  167-168 

Bucks,  number  consumed  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78 

Bull-baiting,   230 

Burghley  (William  Cecil)  Lord,  ad- 
vice to  his  son,  24,  note,  101,  135, 
171-172;  noblemen  trained  in  the 
household  of,  33-34;  on  hospital- 
ity, 171-172;  ruling  of,  for  divine 
service  in  his  household,  185;  pub- 
lie  charities  of,  187,  and  note, 
191;  charities  of,  189,  195;  food 
doles  of,  193;  stables  of,  218;  his 
garden,  at  Theobalds,  221;  resi- 
dences of,  223 

Burghley,  residence  of  Lord  Burgh- 
ley,  223 

Bury,  St.  Edmunds,  200 

Bushey,  Mr.,  page,  15 

Bustard,  the,  as  food,  67,  122;  re- 
ceipt for  preparing,  67-68;  Law- 
rence Andrewe  on  the,  68 

Butcher,  the  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland 's  wages  to  his,  53 ;  the 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland's 
regulation  for  hia,  91 ;  brevements 
of  the,  131 

Butlers,  brevements  of  the,  134 

Butt,  wine  measure,  84 

Butter,  weekly  cost  of,  to  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  77,  78;  mention, 
79 

Buttery,  Groom  of,  14;  his  service, 
150;  Yeoman  of,  14,  15;  his  ser- 
vice, 154;  Yeomen  of,  in  the  Bid- 
ing Household,  228;  Yeoman  and 
Groom  of,  21;  supplies  stored  in, 
114;  duties  of  servants  of  the, 
114,  157,  161,  163,  165;  supply 


rules  for  servants  of,  127;  sur- 
veillance of,  130;  servants  of,  at 
table,  153;  removal  of  equipment 
of,  at  change  of  residence,  225 

Cabbage,  72 

Cade,  fish  measure,  80,  83 

Caesar,  Commentaries  of,  236 

Caister,  Castle,  the  Great  Hall  in, 
149;  equipment  of  the  bed-rooms 
in,  204  et  seq. 

Calf's  mugget,  74 

Calves,  heads  and  plucks  of,  as  food, 
74;  number  used  weekly  in  house- 
hold of  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  77, 
78;  number  consumed  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 

Calvin,  John,  182 

Cambridge,  University,  servants  of 
noblemen  at,  44-45,  note 

Canary  Isles,  fruits  from,  73 

Canary  wine,  72 

Candle-man,   the,   servitor,    16 

Candlemas,  festival,  179;  offering 
at,  198 

Candles,  ends  of,  fees  to  servants, 
56-57;  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  82; 
yearly  supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rut- 
land, 85;  offerings  "set"  in,  198 

Capers,  73,  84 

Capons,  78 

Carleton,  John,  Receiver  to  Sir 
Thomas  Lovell,  59;  work  done  by, 
140  et  seq. 

Carp,  79,  84,  92,  93,  94 

Carpenters,  servitors,  16 

Carriages,  for  removal  of  household, 
224  et  seq. 

Carrots,  72 

Carver,  Nobleman's  brother  as,  27; 
towel  for  the,  83;  duties  of  the, 
149,  153,  154,  157,  158,  160,  161 
et  seq.,  173;  Gentleman  of  the 
Horse  as,  220;  in  the  Riding 
Household,  228 


256 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[530 


Carvers,  household  servants,   13 

Casks,  fees  to  servants,  56 

Cast,  of  bread,  78 

Castles,  of  nobles,  sleeping  rooms  in, 
202 

Gates  (fresh  acates),  79 

Gator  (Achator,  Caterer,  etc.),  ser- 
vitor, 16,  17-18,  21,  79;  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland 's  directions 
for  his,  106;  character  and  duties 
of  the,  117-118  et  seq.;  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland's  ruling  for 
the,  120;  supervision  over,  by  no- 
blemen, 121 ;  at  table,  153 

Catory,  children  on  duty  in  the,  14 

Cauliflower,  72 

Cavendish,  on  Wolsey's  household 
service,  33 

Caviar,  73 

Cellar,  Yeoman  of  the,  14,  15;  fees 
of  Yeoman  of,  56;  duties  of  Yeo- 
man of,  113-114;  Yeoman  of,  at 
the  table,  153;  place  of  Yeoman 
of,  in  the  Eiding  Household,  228; 
the  Yeoman  and  Groom  of  the, 
21;  the  Groom  of  the,  14;  duties 
of  Groom  of,  113-114;  Groom  of, 
at  table,  153 ;  the  supplies  in,  113- 
114;  plate  of  the  Duke  of  Suffolk 
in  his,  115-116;  surveillance  of 
the,  130;  removal  of  the  equip- 
ment of  the,  at  change  of  resi- 
dence, 225;  supply  rules  for  ser- 
vitors of,  127 

Chamber,  the  Great,  food  service  in, 
151  et  seq.;  service  for  guests  in, 
172  et  seq.;  Gentleman  Usher  of 
the,  in  Riding  Household,  228; 
Ushers  of,  their  functions,  131, 
and  note;  Usher  and  Groom  of 
the,  21;  Yeomen  of  the,  14; 
Grooms  of  the,  14;  Grooms  of  the, 
to  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  16; 
Grooms  of,  in  the  Riding  House- 
hold, 228;  Yeomen  Ushers  of,  to 
Edward,  Earl  of  Derby,  15;  Yeo- 
men Ushers  of,  duties,  227 

Chamberlain,    the,    in    household    of 


5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  12; 
special  food  for  the,  28-29,  90; 
servant  wages  paid  by  the,  54; 
fuel  supply  to  the  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland's,  89 

Chamber-maids,  21 

Chambers,  Yeomen  of  the,  in  the 
Riding  Household,  228 

Chandler,  brevements  of,  131 

Chandlers,  dishonesty  among,  58 

Chapel,  Dean  of  the,  in  the  house- 
hold of  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 13;  an  officer  by  patent,  49; 
servitor,  177 

Chapel,  servitors,  in  household  of 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  13; 
Gentlemen  of  the,  13;  equipment 
of  the,  181;  preparation  of,  for 
service,  182,  183;  children  of,  as 
players,  231 

Chaplain,  the  Riding,  13;  Sir  Gil- 
bert Towneley,  to  Henry,  Earl  of 
Derby,  15;  the  household,  at 
funeral  of  master,  63;  offers 
grace  at  meals,  159 ;  his  functions, 
181-182,  188,  189,  193;  in  the 
Riding  Household,  228 

Chaplains,  in  the  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  13 

Charcoal,  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land 's  yearly  supply  of,  81 ;  men- 
tion, 82,  85 ;  manufacture  of,  85 ; 
size  of  a  load  of,  85 

Chariot,  Groom  of  the,  14;  the  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland's,  181 

Charities,  of  noblemen,  187  et  seq. ; 
comment  on  noblemen 's,  201 ;  dis- 
pensed by  the  Surveyor,  138 

Chaucer,  works  of,  236 

Chawder,  measure,  81,  and  note 

Cheat,  bread,  78 

Check-roll,  of  the  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, 45-47;  of  Henry,  Earl 
of  Derby,  47;  for  guests,  170-171; 
of  servants,  at  removals,  224 

Cheese,  Holland,  79 ;  weekly  cost  of, 
to  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  77-78 

Chester,  Bishop  of,  182 


531] 


INDEX 


257 


Chesterfield,  fair,  108 

Chickens,  78 

Childermas  day,  swans  for  food  on, 
105 

Children,  servitors  in  household  of 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  14; 
in  household  of  John  Howard, 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  19;  in  the  kit- 
chen service,  123;  of  Newark, 
players,  230 

' '  drippings, ' '  bread,  fees  to  ser- 
vants, 56 

Choir,  the,  of  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 178  et  seq. 

Christenings,  presents  from  noble- 
men at  servants'  children's,  38-39 

Christmas,  charcoal  burned  at,  81; 
swans  for  food  at,  105;  entertain- 
ment at,  167;  festival,  179;  char- 
ity at,  195 ;  play  on,  231 ;  music 
at,  234 

Church,  music  at  service  in,  182-183 

Cinnamon,  72;  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 

Citerne,  the,  232 

Citron,  73 

Clarence,  George,  Duke  of,  size  of 
his  household  in  1469,  10 ;  reward 
system  for  the  servants  of,  39; 
method  of  paying  servants,  50; 
yearly  servant  wages  of,  52;  year- 
ly cost  of  household  of,  52;  regu- 
lations of,  for  making  lard,  58; 
liveries  for  servants  furnished  by, 
59;  cost  of  household  supplies  of, 
yearly,  100;  linen  purchase  of, 
115;  acates  bought  by,  117;  menu 
regulation  for,  126;  supply  rule 
of,  127,  128,  129;  brevements  of, 
134;  rule  of,  for  economy,  171; 
rule  of,  for  household  service,  184 ; 
rule,  for  discipline  of  servants, 
187;  charities  of,  189;  order  of, 
for  gate  "sparring,"  194;  stable 
department  of,  217-218;  harbin- 
ger's rules  of,  227-228;  the  Bid- 
ing Household  of,  228-229;  order 
of,  for  bread,  244 


Claret,  72,  78,  80,  84,  96,  111 

Clay,  Thomas,  Auditor  to  Lord  Wil- 
liam Howard,  143 

Clerk  of  the  Closet,  177 

Clerk  of  the  Kitchen,  duties  of,  224, 
227 

Clerks,  number  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  14-15, 
and  note;  the  household,  132-133; 
of  the  brevements,  their  duties, 
224 ;  in  the  Biding  Household,  228 

Clerk's  board,  the,  153 

Cloth,  furnished  to  servants,  53,  54; 
some  kinds  in  use,  209  et  seq. 

Clothing,  supplied  to  servants,  31, 
37,  59  et  seq.;  care  of  a  noble- 
man's, 203-204;  in  the  ward-robe 
of  Henry,  Earl  of  Stafford,  209 
et  seq. 

Cloth-sack,  officers  of  the,  228 

Cloves,  yearly  supply  for  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  80;  mention, 
84 

Coachman,  servitor,  16,  21;  the  fees 
of  the,  56 

Cofferer,  officer,  140,  and  note 

Coffyn,  Lady,  122 

Colchester,  110;  St.  Nicholas  Church 
at,  200;  gifts  to  prisoners  in 
Castle  of,  201;  minstrels  of,  233 

Coles,  Thomas,  60,  61 

Columbine,  water  of,  82 

Comfit,  81,  and  note 

Comptroller,  officer,  12,  15,  17,  21; 
ffarington,  to  Edward,  Earl  of 
Derby,  26;  ffoxe,  to  Henry,  Earl 
of  Derby,  27;  duties  of  the,  30, 
87,  101  et  seq.,  107,  112,  118-119, 
120,  123,  126,  127,  128,  129-130, 
132,  133,  134,  135,  and  note;  def- 
erence to,  from  gentlemen  in  ser- 
vice, 34-35;  Bichard  Gowge,  to  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  102;  the 
table  of  the,  153;  the  Clerk,  132, 
133 

Cony,  a  staple  food,  71 

Cook,  the  Master,  Brathwait  on,  124 ; 
the  Breviate  on,  124-125;  John 


258 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN 


[532 


Earle  on,  125,  note;  at  table,  153; 
the  Yeoman,  14;  place  and  func- 
tions of,  122  et  seq.;  the  Groom, 
place  and  work  of,  122  et  seq. 

Cookery,  French  fads  in,  74  et  seq. 

Cooks,  the  French  as,  74;  Italians 
as,  74;  the  regulations  and  duties 
of  the,  122  et  seq.,  130 

Copper,  household  supply,  84 

Coppet,  a  measure,  81,  and  note 

Corpus  Christi,  festival,  179 

Council,  the  domestic,  13;  officers  of, 
by  patent,  49 

Counterfeit  vessel,  83;  use  of,  91 

Counting-house,  the  clerks  of  the, 
132 

' '  Counter-tenors, ' '  singers,  in  the 
household  of  the  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  13 

Courses,  of  food,  160  et  seq. 

Cowden,  fair,  109 

Cowslips,  water  of,  82 

Crab-apples,  for  verjuice,  104 

Crane,  as  food,  67,  79;  receipt  for 
preparing,  68 

Crayfish,  Mussett  on  the,  70;  as 
food,  79 

Creeping  the  Cross,  ceremony  of, 
198,  and  note 

Cress,  salad,  73 

Cross,  Creeping  the,  198,  and  note 

Crowland,  Abbot  of,  122 

Cucumbers,  72 

Cumberland,  deer  parks  in,  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  105 

Cup-bearer,  servitor,  13;  in  the 
Great  Chamber  service,  150;  ser- 
vice of,  157,  158;  place  in  Biding 
Household,  228 

Curlews,  as  food,  79 

Currants,  72;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  80; 
mention,  84 

Dalamar,  servant  to  Lord  John  How- 
ard, 56 

Damask,  209  et  seq. 

Dancing  bears,  230 


Dandelion,  water  of,  82 

Danzig,  iron  from,  111 

Dates,  72,  84;  yearly  supply  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland  of,  80 

Deeping,  110 

Demesnes,  as  sources  of  supplies, 
103  et  seq. 

Derby,  Earls  of,  size  of  household 
of,  in  16th  century,  10;  trouble 
of,  with  relatives  in  office,  28; 
officers  of,  by  patent,  49;  fees  in 
household  of,  57;  acates  bought 
by,  117;  hospitality  of,  166;  em- 
phasis on  preaching  by,  181,  182; 
residences  of,  223 ;  changes  of  res- 
idence by,  223 

Derby,  Edward,  Earl  of,  25-26 ;  Gen- 
tlemen in  the  service  of,  31 ;  eulo- 
gy on,  by  the  7th  Earl,  31-32;  re- 
wards to  servants  by,  39;  yearly 
servant  wages  of,  52-53;  yearly 
cost  of  household  of,  52-53;  pay- 
ments for  liveries  by,  59;  kindli- 
ness of,  to  his  servants,  63;  regu- 
lations of,  about  supplies,  91-92, 
126;  yearly  cost  of  supplies  of, 
100;  interest  of,  in  his  grain  sup- 
plies, 112-113;  linen  purchases  by, 
115 ;  kitchen  regulation  of,  123 ; 
regulation  of,  for  service,  164; 
rule  of,  for  economy,  171 ;  Lenten 
food  bought  by,  180;  charity  of, 
195,  197;  stable  department  of, 
218;  bread  receipt  of,  244-245 

Derby,  Ferdinando,  Earl  of,  26 

Derby,  Henry,  Earl  of,  household  of, 
15-16;  mention,  25-26;  directions 
of,  for  Officers'  service,  29;  Gen- 
tlemen in  service  of,  31 ;  system 
of,  for  hiring  servants,  47 ;  weekly 
food  consumption  in  household  of, 
77-78;  supply  regulation  of,  121; 
kitchen  service  of,  123 ;  breve- 
ments  of,  134;  ruling  of,  for  di- 
vine service  in  household,  185; 
alms  of,  189-190;  on  duties  of 
Officers,  195 


INDEX 


259 


Derby,  James,  7th  Earl  of,  letters 
of,  on  household  management,  24, 
and  note,  28,  30-31,  32,  42,  47-48, 
59;  on  relatives  in  office,  28;  on 
Stewards,  30-31 ;  on  rewards  to 
servants,  40;  on  hiring  servants, 
47-48;  on  liveries  for  servants, 
59;  excerpts  from  the  Private  De- 
votions of,  177;  fondness  of,  for 
music,  182-183 

Derby,  William,  Earl  of,  183 

Derbyshire,  players  of,  230 

Dickens,  Charles,  76 

Diddapers,  as  food,  67 

Dinner,  Officers'  position  at,  28; 
making  of  menus  for,  126;  ser- 
vants on  duty  at,  150;  hours  for, 
152;  service  at,  152  et  seq. 

Discipline,  for  servants,  185  et  seq. 

Dishes,  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  83,  and 
note;  purchases  of,  by  Lord  John 
Howard,  98,  99 ;  renting  of,  99 

Dishonesty,  in  servants,  35  et  seq.; 
tendency  of  servants  towards,  58- 
59 

Diversions,  change  of  residence  by 
noblemen  as,  222  et  seq.;  the  Bid- 
ing Household  as,  226  et  seq.; 
miscellaneous,  of  noblemen,  229 
et  seq.;  theatrical,  of  noblemen, 
230-231;  music  as,  231  et  seq.; 
book-buying  as,  234  et  seq. 

Documents,  preservation  of  the 
household,  145-146 

Dogs,  in  the  household,  192-193 

Doncaster,  White  Friars  of,  199; 
players  of,  230 

Dotterels,  as  food,  79 

Doughtie,  Michael,  15,  27 

Dover,  dressing  the  Rood  in  Court 
at,  201 

Dresser,  regulation  of  service  for 
the,  129 

Drink,  money  to  servants  from  no- 
blemen for,  38 

Drinking  glasses,  85 


' '  Drinkings, ' '  service  at,  150 

Drinks,  the  staple,  72 

Drummer,  in  the  household,  21;  his 
duties,  229 

Ducks,  78-79 

Dudley,  Lord,  players  of,  230 

Dung,  fee  to  servants,  56 

Durham,  Bishopric  of,  Harrison  on 
deer  parks  in,  105,  note 

Earle,  John,  on  Cooks,  125,  note 

Easter,  festival,  179;  play  on,  231 

Easter  eve,  offering  at,  198 

Education,  of  servants  by  noblemen, 
42  et  seq. 

Eel,  salt,  80,  83,  94 

Eggs,  79 

Egret,  as  food,  67 

Elder  flowers,  water  of,  82 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  food  used  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of,  78-79 

Eltham,  Castle,  size  of  Great  Hall 
in,  149 

Ely,  fair,  108,  109 

Elyse,  Harry,  a  "Gentleman  Her- 
mit," 201 

Endive,  water  of,  82 

England,  King  of,  Maundy  Thurs- 
day service  by,  196,  note 

English,  Hentzner's  comment  on,  9; 
foreign  comment  on  love  of  food 
of,  64  et  seq.;  sear  food  eaten  by, 
69  et  scq.;  use  of  "spice"  by,  71- 
72;  Harrison  on  breads  of,  243- 
244 

Entertainment,  food  used  by  Lord 
North  at  Elizabeth's,  78-79;  food 
gifts  for,  122;  details  of,  172  et 
seq. 

Epiphany,  Feast  of,  entertainment 
on,  167-168 

Eringoes,  73 

Essex,  Harrison  on  deer  parks  in, 
105,  note 

Essex,  Earl  of,  son  of,  trained  by 
Burghley,  34 

Estates,  surveys  of,  136  et  seq. 

Evidence  house,  the,  145-146 


260 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[534 


Ewery,  Yeoman  of  the,  14,  15,  21; 
fees  of  Yeoman  of,  56,  57;  temp- 
tations before  Yeoman  of,  58 ; 
Groom  of  the,  14,  21;  service  by 
Groom  of  the,  150,  216;  Groom  of, 
in  Riding  Household,  228;  Linen 
for,  83;  supplies  in,  115;  plate  of 
Duke  of  Suffolk  in,  116;  supply 
rules  for  servitors  of,  127;  ser- 
vants of,  at  table,  153;  service  by 
servitors  of,  157,  158,  159,  165; 
removal  of  equipment  of,  at 
change  of  residence,  225 

Exeter,  Lord  Marquis  of,  the  players 
of,  230 

Expenses,  Lord  Burghley  to  his  son 
on,  135;  9th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land to  his  son  on,  135;  for  enter- 
tainment, 170  et  seq. 

Extravagance,  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland's care  against,  in  his 
household,  90  et  seq. 

Fads  in  food,  74  et  seq. 

Fagots,  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land 's  yearly  supply  of,  81 ;  men- 
tion, 88 

Fairfax,  Lord,  table  rules  of,  163- 
164;  regulations  of,  for  entertain- 
ment, 172;  books  of  Sir  William, 
at  Gilling,  236-237 

Fairs,  supplies  bought  at,  107  et 
seq.;  Harrison  on,  107,  108;  pat- 
ronage of,  by  noblemen,  108  et 
seq. 

Falconers,  servitors,  14 

Family,  members  of  a  nobleman's, 
as  household  servitors,  11,  25-28 

Farmers,  supplies  bought  from,  110 

Fastolfe,  Sir  John,  Great  Hall  of, 
at  Caister,  149;  salt-cellars  of, 
159;  bed-rooms  of,  at  Caister, 
202 ;  equipment  of  bed-rooms  of, 
204  et  seq.;  equipment  of  armory 
of,  214 

Fazesley,  fair,  108 

Fees,  paid  to  servants,  56  et  seq.; 
Richard  Brathwait  on  sale  of,  57; 
a  temptation  to  servants,  58-59 


Feet,  neat's,  as  food,  78 

Fennel,  water  of,  82 

Ferns,  water  of,  82 

Festivals,  special  dishes  bought  for, 
83,  91 ;  swans  for  food  at,  105 ; 
fairs  on,  108;  special  food  for, 
119-120;  entertainment  at,  167- 
168;  Church,  observed  by  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  179;  the  poor 
remembered  at,  195  et  seq.;  alms 
at,  198  et  seq.;  plays  on,  231 

ffarington,  William,  sketch  of,  26; 
officer  by  patent,  49 

ffoxe,  William,  servitor  in  Stanley 
family,  27 

Fighting  dogs,  230 

Figs,  81,  84;  for  Lent,  180 

Finances,  Lord  Burghley  on  house- 
hold, 135;  9th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland on  household,  135;  han- 
dled by  the  Receiver,  139 ;  interest 
of  noblemen  in  their,  146-147 

Fish,  as  food,  69  et  seq.;  amount  of 
fresh,  used  weekly  by  Henry,  Earl 
of  Derby,  77,  78;  yearly  supply 
of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 80 ;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
Earl  of  Rutland,  83-84;  dressed 
with  honey,  80;  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland 's  regulations  re- 
garding use  of,  90 ;  interest  in,  of 
John  Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
92  et  seq.;  ponds  for,  92  et  seq.; 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland 's 
ponds  for,  105-106;  gifts  by  Lord 
John  Howard  of,  93-94;  bought  at 
fairs,  109,  110;  presents  of,  122; 
as  Lenten  food,  180 

Florence  of  Worcester,  Chronicle  of, 
237 

Food,  allowances  of,  to  servants,  62 ; 
the  ' '  reversion, "  62 ;  the  English 
great  consumers  of,  64  et  seq.; 
Van  Meteren  on  English  love  of, 
64;  Nicander  Nuncius  on  English 
love  of,  64;  Harison  on  English 
use  of,  65-66;  Paul  Hentzner  on 
the  English  and  their,  65,  note;  a 


535] 


INDEX 


261 


Venetian  comment  on  the  English 
and  their,  65,  note;  Levinus  Lem- 
niua  on  the  English  and  their,  65, 
note;  dietary  of,  for  a  nobleman, 
66  et  seq. ;  the  ' '  gross, "  66 ;  birds 
as,  66  et  seq.;  78-79;  fads  in,  74 
et  seq.;  sea,  used  by  English,  69 
et  seq.,  79;  seal  as,  69;  porpoise 
as,  69;  meats  as,  70  et  seq.; 
brawn,  receipt  for,  70,  note; 
"spice, "  used  as,  71-72;  grains 
as,  71;  drinks,  72;  the  staple  veg- 
etable, 72-73;  the  staple  fruits  as, 
73;  herbs  as,  74;  sausages,  74; 
weekly  expenditure  of,  in  house- 
hold, 77  et  seq.;  amount  used  at 
Lord  North's  entertainment  of 
Elizabeth,  78-79;  of  "store,"  79; 
importance  of  problem  of  supply 
of,  for  household,  79 ;  system  of 
purveyance  of,  79  et  seq.;  yearly 
purchase  of,  by  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, 80  et  seq.;  yearly  pur- 
chase of,  by  Earl  of  Rutland,  83 
et  seq. ;  regulations  for  use  of,  in 
household,  87  et  seq. ;  an  official 
assignment  for,  87;  gifts  of,  by 
noblemen,  121  et  seq. ;  assay  of, 
159,  160;  courses  of,  160  et  seq.; 
special,  for  Lent,  179-180;  alms 
in,  192  et  seq.;  use  of,  at  noble- 
man's funeral,  197 
Fool,  the  household,  16,  20 
Footmen,  servitors,  14,  16,  21;  ser- 
vice of  the,  154 

Foreign  Expenses,  the  Clerk  of  the, 
14-15,  and  note;  Clerk  of,  in  Rid- 
ing Household,  228 
Fowls,  gifts  of,  as  food,  122 
French,  as  cooks,  74 
Froissart,  Chronicles  of,  236 
Fruits,  gifts  of,  122;  the  staple,  73; 
Harison    on,    73 ;     in    noblemen 's 
gardens,  220  et  seq. 
Fuel,  yearly  supply  of,  for  Earl  of 
Rutland,  85;   supply  of,  for  Lord 
John    Howard,    97-98;    regulation 
for  use  of,  87-88,  and  note;    5th 


Earl  of  Northumberland's  regula- 
tion for,  89  et  seq. 

Fulke,  Testament  of,  236 

Fumitory,  water  of,  82 

Funeral,  of  Francis  Talbot,  Earl  of 
Shrewsbury,  63;  servants  at  a  no- 
bleman's, 63;  food  gifts  sent  in 
for  a  nobleman's,  122;  the  poor 
at  a  nobleman's,  197-198;  the 
Gentleman  of  the  Horse  at  a  no- 
bleman's, 220 

Furnishings,  moving  of  household, 
224  et  seq. 

Furniture,  regulation  of  Henry  8th, 
against  theft  of,  by  his  servants, 
99-100 

Gallinga,  81,  and  note 

Garden,  Yeoman  and  Groom  of  the, 
21 

Gardeners,  servitors,  16;  duties  of 
the,  220  et  seq. 

Gardens,  to  supply  herbs  for  house- 
hold use,  106;  noblemen's,  220  et 
seq. 

Garner,  supplies  in  the,  113;  the 
Clerks  of  the,  132;  functions  of 
Clerks  of  the,  133 

Garnish,  set  of  dishes,  83,  and  note 

Gauge,  Richard,  Comptroller  to  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  102 

Gascon  wine,  80 

Geese,  78 

Gelentine,  sauce,  68,  and  note 

Gentleman  Usher,  the,  Chapman's 
play,  156,  174-175 

Gentlemen,  "at  their  friends'  find- 
ing," in  household  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  13;  service  by, 
in  household,  31  et  seq. ;  the  house- 
hold, at  funeral  of  a  nobleman, 
63 ;  service  by,  in  the  Great  Cham- 
ber, 149-150,  151;  in  the  Riding 
Household,  228;  Waiters,  in  ser- 
vice to  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  31 

Gentlewomen,  in  the  household,  21 

Gerkins,  84 

"Gifts  and  Rewards,"  account  book 
caption,  121 


262 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF  A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN 


[536 


CUd,  St.  Christopher's,  of  York,  200; 
of  Our  Lady,  at  Boston,  201;  St. 
Anne's,  at  Warden  Abbey,  201 

Gilling,  books  of  Sir  William  Fair- 
fax at,  236-237 

Ginger,  72;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  80; 
mention,  84 

Gissing,  George,  75 

Glass,  window,  household  supply,  85 

Glocester,  Lord  of,  Trumpets  of  the, 
233;  the  Shalms  of,  233 

Glover,  brevements  of  the,  131 

Gluttony,  Brathwait  on,  74-75; 
Stubbes  on,  75-76 

Goat,  as  staple  food,  71 

Godwits,  birds,  as  food,  67,  69,  79 

Good  Friday,  charity  on,  196-197 

"Goose-fair,"  108 

Goshawk,  68 

"Gospeller,"  the,  in  household  of 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  13, 
177;  his  duties,  178 

Gowns,  part  of  servant  wages,  53 
et  seq. 

Grace,  at  meals,  159;  said  by  the 
Chaplain,  182 

Grail,  180,  and  note 

Grain,  used  as  food,  71;  yearly  sup- 
ply of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 80;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
Earl  of  Rutland,  84;  purchases  of, 
by  Lord  John  Howard,  95-96; 
source  of  supply  of,  for  Earl  of 
Rutland,  104;  storage  of,  in  house- 
hold, 113 

' '  Grains  of  Paradise, ' '  yearly  sup- 
ply of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 80-81,  and  note 
Grammar,  Master  of,  in  household 
of  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
43-44 

Gravesend,   fair,   109 

Great    Chamber,    fees    to    Yeoman 

Usher  and  Groom  of,  56;   gaming 

in,  56 ;  linen  for  use  in,  83 ;   food 

regulation  for,  128,  129;  size,  lo- 


cation   and    importance    of,    148- 
149;  servant  force  for,  149  et  seq. 

Great  raisins,  for  Lent,  180 

Grecian  wine,   72 

Grimsthorpe  House,  residence  of  the 
Berties,  223 

Groom,  of  the  Great  Chamber,  fees 
to,  56,  of  the  Hall,  fees  to  the, 
56;  duties  of,  of  the  Hall,  192- 
193;  of  the  Cellar,  duties  of,  113- 
114;  of  the  Buttery,  duties  of, 
114;  of  the  Pantry,  temptations 
before  the,  58;  of  the  Ward-robe 
of  Beds,  functions  of,  202  et  seq. 

Groom  Officers,  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  14 

Grooms,  in  household  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  14;  stations  in 
the  household,  21;  supply  regula- 
tions for  the,  127;  service  by,  in 
the  Great  Chamber,  150 ;  of  the 
Ward-robe,  functions  of  the,  145; 
at  table,  153;  dinner  service  of, 
164-165 ;  of  the  Horse,  218 ;  in  the 
Riding  Household,  228 

Groom  Sumpterman,  the,  228 

"Gross  emptions, "  the,  79,  101 

Grouse,  as  food,  66 

Guests,  entertainment  of,  208-209, 
and  note 

Gulls,  as  food,  79 

Gun  Powder  Plot,  the,  24 

Haberdine,  69,  83;  weekly  amount 
of,  used  by  household  of  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  77,  78 

Haddon  House,  Great  Chamber  in, 
148-149 

Hadley,  Minstrel  of,  233-234 

Hales,  Holy  Blood  of,  199,  and  note, 
200 

Hall,  Marshal  of,  rewards  servants, 
39;  Marshal  of,  in  Riding  House- 
hold, 228;  Marshals  of,  servitors, 
13;  Yeoman  Usher  of,  14;  ser- 
vice by  Yeoman  Usher  of,  150, 
164  et  seq.,  176,  227;  Groom  of, 
14;  service  by  Groom  of,  154, 


537] 


INDEX 


263 


192;  Groom  of,  at  table,  153;  Un- 
der Almoner  of  the,  14;  Yeomen 
of  the,  15 ;  Yeoman  and  Groom  of 
the,  21 ;  Officers  at  first  table  in, 
28,  62;  fees  to  Usher  and  Groom 
of,  56;  gaming  in,  56;  linen  used 
in,  83;  duties  of  servitors  of,  116- 
117;  food  regulations  for,  128, 
129;  Usher  of,  his  functions,  131, 
and  note,  155,  192-193;  breve- 
ments  of  Ushers  of,  134;  size,  lo- 
cation and  importance  of,  148, 
149;  food  service  in,  151  et  seq.; 
servant  attendance  in,  151 ;  ser- 
vice for  guests  in,  172  et  seq.; 
entertainment  in,  175  et  seq. 

Hambledon,  Yorkshire,  103 

Haras,  95,  and  note 

Harbinger,  duties  of  the,  227-228 

Hare,  a  staple  food,  71 

Harp,  233 

Harrison,  William,  on  English  use 
of  food,  65-66;  on  birds  used  as 
food,  69;  receipt  of,  for  brawn, 
70,  note;  on  wines,  72;  on  fruits, 
73;  on  herbs,  74;  on  pewter  dish- 
es, 98-99;  on  markets  and  fairs, 
107,  108;  on  plate  in  households, 
115;  on  armories  in  households, 
214;  on  moving  from  residence  to 
residence,  222 ;  on  the  breads  of 
the  English,  243-244 

Hart's  tongue,  water  of,  82 

Haws,  water  of,  82 

Hay,  supply  for  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland of,  104 

Heads,  of  animals,  fees  to  servants, 
56,  57 

Heating,  see  fuel 

Henry,  the  8th,  some  household  reg- 
ulations of,  22 ;  officials  of,  train- 
ed by  Wolsey,  33;  regulations  of, 
against  stealing  by  servants,  99- 
100;  regulations  of,  for  his  kitch- 
en, 124;  directions  for  making  the 
bed  of,  206  et  seq. 

Hentzner,  Paul,  comment  of,  on  the 


English,  9;  on  the  English  and 
their  food,  65,  note;  on  Burgh- 
ley's  garden  at  Theobalds,  221 

Herald,  the,  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  13 

Heralds,  in  the  Riding  Household, 
228 

Herbs,  the  staple,  74;  Harrison  on, 
74;  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  106;  in  gar- 
dens of  noblemen,  220-221 

Hermit,  Harry  Elyse,  a  "Gentle- 
man," 201 

Heron,  receipt  for  preparing,  67 

Heronsew,  as  food,  79 

Herring,  69,  79,  80,  83,  180 

Hersted,  Minstrel  of,  234 

Hind,  staple  food,  71 

Hippocras,  78 

Hogs,  yearly  supply  for  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  80;  yearly  sup- 
ply for  Earl  of  Eutland,  83,  111 

Holland,  Co.  Lincoln,  104 

Holland,  players  of,  230 

Holinshed,   Chronicles  of,  236 

Holywell,  gifts  to  Prior  and  Con 
vent  of,  201 

Honey,  for  fish  dressing,  80 

"Hop-men,"  servitors,   16 

Hops,  72;  yearly  supply  for  Earl  of 
Eutland,  84;  amounts  bought  by 
Lord  John  Howard,  97 

Horse,  the  Yeoman  of  the,  14,  16, 
218;  fees  of  Yeoman  of,  56;  Yeo- 
man of,  in  Riding  Household,  228 ; 
Gentleman  of  the,  21;  table  of 
Gentleman  of,  153;  duties  of  Gen- 
tleman of,  218  et  seq.;  Grooms  of 
the,  218 

Horses,  feed  for,  84 ;  regulations  for, 
for  supply  purveyors,  106;  in  pos- 
session of  noblemen,  216  et  seq. 

Hospitality,  extent  of,  165  et  seq.; 
some  reasons  for,  169;  manage- 
ment of,  170  et  seq.;  details  of, 
172  et  seq.;  lodging  of  guests, 
208-209,  and  note 


264 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A   TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[538 


Hounds,   feed   for,   57 

Household,  meaning  of  term,  9;  size 
of  Tudor  nobles',  9-11;  groups  of 
people  in,  11;  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  11-15;  of  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  15-16;  of  John 
Howard,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  17-20; 
summary  of  Eichard  Bertie's,  in 
1560-1562,  240-241;  a  regulation 
noble,  20-21 ;  reasons  for  uniform- 
ity of,  in  Tudor  times,  21-22;  role 
of  tradition  in  the,  22;  the  Eoyal, 
the  model  for  noblemen's,  22; 
some  regulations  of  Henry  8th  for, 
22;  the  problem  of  control  in, 
23;  Letters  of  9th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland on  management  of,  24; 
Lord  Burghley's  precepts  on  man- 
agement of,  24,  note;  Letters  of 
James,  7th  Earl  of  Derby  on 
management  of,  24,  and  note ;  reg- 
ulations of  Earls  of  Derby  for, 
91-92;  character  of  officials  of, 
25-31;  trouble  from  relatives  as 
servants  in  the,  28;  noblemen's, 
as  training  schools  for  nobility, 
31  et  seq. ;  yearly  cost  of  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland's,  52;  yearly 
cost  of,  to  George,  Duke  of  Clar- 
ence, 52;  yearly  cost  of,  to  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Derby,  52-53;  fees 
in,  of  the  Earls  of  Derby,  57; 
payments  for  livery  cloth  in,  59 
et  seq.;  weekly  expenditure  of 
food  in,  77  et  seq.;  yearly  sup- 
plies of  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land for,  80  et  seq.;  yearly  sup- 
plies of  Earl  of  Rutland  for,  83 
et  seq. ;  an  official  assignment  for 
supplies  for,  87;  sources  of  sup- 
plies for,  103  et  seq.;  time  for 
getting  supplies  for,  111  et  seq.; 
supply  storage  in,  113  et  seq. ;  reg- 
ulation for  control  of  supplies  in, 
125  et  seq.;  clerks  in,  132-133; 
sources  of  income  for  expenses  of, 
135  et  seq.;  audit  of  expenses  for, 


143  et  seq.;  preservation  of  docu- 
ments of,  145-146;  food  service  in, 
151  et  seq. ;  service  by  relatives  in, 
154 ;  hospitality  in,  165  et  seq. ; 
importance  of  religious  service  in, 
183  et  seq.;  movement  of,  between 
residences,  223  et  seq. ;  duties  of 
Musicians  of  the,  229 ;  music  in, 
231  et  seq.;  servants  essential  to 
a,  242 

Howard,  Lord  William,  of  Naworth 
Castle,  size  of  household  of,  11; 
his  Steward,  27,  note;  method  of 
paying  servants  of,  50,  51 ;  source 
of  supplies  for  use  of,  104;  acates 
bought  by,  117,  246;  rental  book 
of,  136  et  seq.;  audit  of  accounts 
of,  143-144;  parrative  of  enter- 
tainment by,  168  et  seq.;  charity 
of,  190;  library  of,  237 

Huntsmen,  servitors,  14 

Indenture,  for  servant  hire,  48-49 

Indies,   fruits  from   the,   73 

Inventories,  of  bedding  and  apparel, 
204  et  seq.;  of  ward-robe  of 
Henry,  Earl  of  Stafford,  209  et 
seq. 

Invoicing,  of  household  goods,  145 

Instruments,  musical,  232  et  seq. 

Iron,  household  supply,  85,  111 

Isinglass,    ' '  spice, ' '    72,    and    note 

Italians,  as  cooks,  74 

Italian  wine,  72 

James  the  1st,  garden  of,  221 

Jefferies,  Eichard,  note  from,  109, 
note 

Jesters,  230 

Jesuit,  advice  against  hiring  a,  as 
servant,  47 

Jewel-house,  in  Leckinfield  Castle,  88 

Joiner,   servitor,    14 

Journal,  book  for  supply  accounts, 
126,  131 

Jugglers,  230 

' '  Kennices, ' '  birds,  as  food,  67 

Kent,  Harrison  on  deer  parks  in, 
105,  note;  fairs  in,  108-109 


539] 


INDEX 


265 


Kent,  Lord  of,  his  minstrels,  233 

Kid,  staple  food,  71 

King,   shalms  of  the,   234 

Kirkoswald,  Great  Hall  of,  149 

Kirtling,  Lord  North  of,  59;  enter- 
tainment of  Elizabeth  at,  78 

Kitchen,  Clerk  of,  14,  18,  21,  re- 
wards to  servants,  by  Clerk  of,  39 ; 
servant  check-roll  in  hands  of 
Clerk  of,  45-46;  servants  sworn 
in  by  Clerk  of,  47;  Clerk  of,  and 
payment  of  servants,  51,  52;  du- 
ties of  Clerk  of,  86,  87,  101  et 
seq.,  112,  118-119,  120,  126,  127, 
129-130,  132,  133,  153,  154,  159, 
170,  171,  224,  227;  Groom  of  the, 
14;  children  on  duty  in,  14;  the 
service  in,  for  Henry,  Earl  of  Der- 
by, 16;  Thomas  Percy,  Clerk  of, 
to  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
27,  102;  Michael  Doughtie,  Clerk 
of,  27;  fees  to  Clerks  of,  56,  fees 
to  Master  Cook  from,  57;  linen 
for,  83;  place  and  duties  of  servi- 
tors of,  122  et  seq.;  removal  of 
stuff  of,  at  change  of  residence, 
225 

"Kitcheners,"  the,  122 

" Knasbrughe, "  St.  Robert's  of,  200 

Knight's  board,  linen  for,  83;  the, 
153 ;  attendance  at  the,  154 ; 
strangers  at  the,  172 

Knights,  service  by,  in  the  house- 
hold, 31 

Knots,  as  food,  79 

Knowsley,  residence  of  Earls  of  Der- 
by, 182;  preaching  at,  182,  resi- 
dence at,  223 

Knox,  John,  182 

Lady  Day,  festival,  179 

Lady  Mass  Priest,  177,  179 

Lamb,  staple  food,  71 

Lambs,  number  consumed  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78;  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 ;  year- 
ly supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rutland, 


.83;  as  food,  90;  Source  of  supply 
of,  for  Earl  of  Rutland,  103 

Lammas,  festival,  179 

Lang  du  Boeuf,  water  of,  82 

Lard,  provision  of  George,  Duke  of 
Clarence  for,  58;  mention,  79 

Larder,  duties  of  Yeoman  of,  114; 
supplies  stored  in,  114,  120;  breve- 
ments  of  Clerks  of,  134;  removal 
of  equipment  of,  at  change  of  res- 
idence, 225 

Larderer,  supply  duties  of,  130; 
brevements  of,  131 

Lathom,  residence  of  Earls  of  Der- 
by, 10;  preaching  at,  182;  resi- 
dence at,  223 

Lathom  Park,  223 

Laundresses,  servitors,  16 

Laundry,  Groom  of  the,  21 

Lazars,  alms  to,  201 

Lead,  household  supply,  85 

Leckinfield  Castle,  residence  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  school 
house  in,  43-44;  Jewel  house  in, 
88;  regulation  for  fuel  in,  87-88, 
and  note;  libraries  in,  88,  235;  hay 
made  at,  104;  "Carr"  of  swans, 
at,  104-105;  bed-rooms  in,  202; 
residence  at,  223-224 

Lees,  wine,  fees  to  servants,  56 

Leland,  Itinerary  of,  235 

Lemnius,  Levinus,  on  English  and 
their  food,  65,  note 

Lemons,  73 

Lent,  Officer's  breakfast  service  dur- 
ing, 29 ;  special  food  for,  111,  179- 
180 ;  a  breakfast  menu  for,  180 
'Lenton  fair,  108 

Lessons,  in  music,  232-233 

Lettuce,  72 

Libraries  in  Leckinfield,  88,  90,  235; 
in  noblemen 's  houses,  234-235 ;  of 
Lord  William  Howard,  237 

Light,  supply  of,  for  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  82;  supply  of, 
for  Earl  of  Rutland,  85,  104;  on 
livery  service.  152 


266 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN 


[540 


Lincoln,  players  of,  230 

Lincolnshire,  St.  Margaret's,  shrine, 
199 

Linen,  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  82-83; 
storage  of,  115;  purchase  of,  for 
George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  115; 
purchase  of,  by  Edward,  Earl  of 
Derby,  115;  washing  of,  for 
church  servitors,  179 

Ling,  69,  83;  amount  used  weekly 
in  household  of  Henry,  Earl  of 
Derby,  77,  78 

Liquors,  storage  of,  113-114 

Litchfield,  fair,  108 

Livery,  of  wood,  89;  food  served  at, 
152;  cloth,  payments  in  house- 
holds for,  59  et  seq. 

Liveries,  linen  for,  83;  the  half,  or 
summer,  90;  dishes  for,  91;  reg- 
ulation for,  128 

Livy,  works  of,  236 

Lobsters,  69 

Lodge,  the  Porter's,  inspection  of, 
by  Officers,  29 

Lodges,  purpose  of,  as  residences, 
223 

' '  Lombard, ' '  John  Howard,  Duke 
of  Norfolk  borrows  from  a,  60-61 

London,  Bartholomew  fair  at,  107; 
household  supplies  bought  at,  110, 
111 

Lovell,  Sir  Thomas,  size  of  house- 
hold of,  in  1542,  10;  Gentlemen 
in  the  service  of,  31;  method  of, 
for  paying  servants,  49;  servants 
paying  wages  for,  54  •  purchase 
of  livery  cloth  by,  59;  work  done 
by  Receiver  for,  140  et  stq.;  ser- 
vants of,  in  1522,  239 

Lute,  14,  232,  233 

Lynn,  mart,  107,  111  jplayers  of,  230 

Mace,  72,  84;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 

Machiavelli,    Discourses   of,    236 

Mackerel,  69 

Make,  Lord,  minstrels  of,  233 


Mallards,  78 

Malt,  staple  food,  71;  yearly  supply 
of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 80;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
Earl  of  Rutland,  84,  104 

Malton,  fair,  108 

Manchets,  bread,  78 

Mandelslo,  on  the  garden  at  Theo- 
balds, 221 

March-beer,  84 

Marchpane,  79 

Marigolds,  water  of,  82 

' '  Marke, ' '  of  swans,  104 

Markets,  supplies  bought  at,  107  et 
seq.-  Harrison  on,  107,  108 

Markham,  Sir  John  and  Lady,  122 

Marshal,  of  the  Hall,  service  of, 
150,  154,  175-176;  in  the  Riding 
Household,  228 

Master  Cook,  the,  21;  fees  paid  to, 
57 

Master  of  Grammar,  177 

Mats,  household  supply,  85 

Maundy  Thursday,  charity  on,  195- 
196,  and  note 

Meals,  servant  attendance  at,  150 ; 
service  of,  151  et  seq.;  quiet  en- 
joined at,  163;  music  at,  175; 
grace  at,  182 

"Means,"  singers,  13 

Meat,  yearly  supply  of,  for  5tih 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80;  reg- 
ulation for  buying,  for  the  Earl 
of  Rutland,  111;  regulation  for 
buying,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 111;  storage  of,  114;  used 
as  food,  70  et  seq. 

Melons,  73 

Menu,   for  Lenten  breakfasts,   180 

Menus,  making  of,  for  household, 
87;  handling  of  the,  126 

Michaelmas,  fair  on,  108;  festival, 
179 

Midsummer  eve,  festival,  179 

Miller,   servitor,   15 

Minstrels,  in  household  of  5th  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  14;  in  house- 


541] 


INDEX 


267 


hold  of  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby, 
16;  noblemen's,  233-234 

Misrule,  Abbot  of,  231 

Mole  Killer,  servitor,  19 

Money,  rewards  of,  to  servants,  38- 
39;  dispensed  as  alms,  by  noble- 
men, 188  et  seq. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  trained  in  Mor- 
ton '9  household,  33 

Morris-dancing,   230 

Morrow  Mass  Priest,  184 

Morton,  Cardinal,  More  trained  in 
household  of,  33 

Mount,  St.  Michael's,  201 

Mounteagle,  Lord,  the  players  of, 
230 

Moving,  by  noblemen,  223  et  seq. 

Muscadel,  72,  84,  111 

Music,  at  meals,  175;  for  church 
service,  178  et  seq.,  182-183;  in 
the  household,  229;  lessons  in, 
232-233;  a  household  "necessity," 
234 

Musicians,  in  the  household,  21; 
play  by  the,  at  meals,  175;  du- 
ties of,  in  the  household,  229,  231- 
232;  salaries  of,  234 

Mussett,  receipts  by,  67-68;  on  the 
Godwit,  69 ;  on  porpoise,  69-70 ;  on 
cray-fish,  70 

Mustard,  Yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  81; 
yearly  supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rut- 
land, 84 

Mutton,  staple  food,  71;  yearly  sup- 
ply of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 80;  yearly  supply  of,  for 
Earl  of  Eutland,  83;  supply  of, 
for  Lord  John  Howard,  95; 
source  of  supply  of,  for  Earl  of 
Eutland,  103;  regulations  for  buy- 
ing, for  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 111 

Napkins,  at  table,  160 

Nativity,  play  of  the,  231 

' '  Navews, ' '  vegetable,  72 

Naworth,  residence  of  Lord  William 


^Howard,  farming  at,   104;   enter- 
tainment  at,    168    et   seq.;    books 
in  the  library  at,  237 
Neale,  Richard,  189 
Neat's  tongue,  74,  78 
Newark,  fair,  108;   players  of,  230 
New  Lodge,  regulation  for  fuel  at, 
87-88,  and  note;  residence  at,  224 
New  Park,  residence  of  the  Earl  of 

Derby,  222,  223 
Newport,  Cold  fair  at,  107 
New  Year's  day,  swans  for  food  on, 
105;  festival,  179;  music  at  dawn 
of,  232 

Nichols,  John,  Pilgrimage  of,  236 
Noblemen,  admonitions  by,  on  house- 
hold management,  24,  and  note; 
relatives  of,  as  household  servants, 
25-28;  advice  by,  to  servants  on 
obedience,  30;  close  relation  of 
Officers  to,  35  et  seq.;  in  debt  to 
servants,  36-37;  special  rewards  to 
servants  by,  37  et  seq.;  education 
of  servants  by,  42  et  seq.;  inter- 
est of,  in  hiring  of  servants,  45 
et  seq.;  methods  of,  for  reckon- 
ing servants '  wages,  49  et  seq. ; 
wage  payments  to  servants  by,  52 
et  seq.;  fees  paid  to  servants  by, 
56  et  seq.;  allowances  of  cloth  to 
servants  by,  59  et  seq.;  shoes  for 
servants  bought  by,  61  et  seq. ; 
food  to  servants  from,  62 ;  ser- 
vants at  funerals  of,  63;  dietary 
for,  66  et  seq. ;  meats  used  by,  70- 
71;  grains  used  by,  71;  "spice" 
used  by,  71-72;  drinks  of,  72; 
vegetables  used  by,  72-73;  fruits 
used  by,  73;  food  fads  of,  74  et 
seq. ;  regulation  by  Henry  8th 
against  theft  of  furniture  by  ser- 
vants from,  99-100 ;  need  for  care 
by,  for  supplies,  100;  patronage 
of  fairs  by,  108  et  seq.;  supply 
duties  assumed  by,  121;  food  ex- 
changed by,  121  et  seq.;  regula- 
tions of,  for  supply  control,  125 


268 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A  TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[542 


et  seq.;  import  of  supply  control 
to,  134;  interest  of,  in  their  fi- 
nances, 146-147;  food  service  for, 
151  et  seq. ;  servant  attendance  at 
table  of,  154;  hospitality  of,  165 
et  seq.;  emphasis  by,  on  religious 
service  in  the  household,  183  et 
seq.;  charities  of,  187  et  seq.; 
comment  on  charities  of,  201 ;  poor 
at  funerals  of,  197-198;  Gild 
membership  of,  200;  sleeping 
rooms  in  castles  of,  202;  care  of 
clothing  of,  203-204;  clothing  of, 
ward-robe  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Staf- 
ford, 209  et  seq.;  armories  of,  in 
household,  213  et  seq.;  horses  of, 
216  et  seq.;  gardens  of,  220  et 
seq.;  residences  owned  by,  222- 
223;  moving  by,  between  resi- 
dences, 223  et  seq.;  Biding  House- 
holds of,  226  et  seq.;  miscellan- 
eous diversions  of,  229;  theatri- 
cal diversions  of,  230-231 ;  music 
of,  as  diversion,  231  et  seq.;  pur- 
chase of  books,  etc.,  by,  234  et  seq. 
Norfolk,  John  Howard,  Duke  of, 
size  of  household  of,  in  1483,  10; 
household  of,  17-20;  in  debt  to  a 
servant,  36-37;  special  rewards  to 
servants  by,  38;  servants'  children 
maintained  at  Cambridge  by,  44- 
45,  note;  method  of,  for  hiring 
servants,  48-49;  method  of,  for 
paying  servants,  50 ;  cloth  furn- 
ished to  servants  by,  53  et  seq.; 
wife  of,  pays  servants,  52,  53,  55; 
servants  hired  by,  54  et  seq.; 
Steward  pays  servants  of,  55; 
purchase  of  livery  cloth  by,  59  et 
seq.;  expenses  upon  elevation  to 
dukedom  of,  59,  et  seq.;  pay- 
ments for  servants'  shoes  by,  61 
et  seq.;  role  of,  as  a  purveyor, 
92  et  seq.,  96,  108,  109,  110,  121; 
charities  of,  188-189,  200-201;  pa- 
tronage of  music  by,  23-2^233; 
dramatic  amusements  of,  233-234; 


Thomas  Howard,  3rd  Duke  of, 
Earl  of  Oxford  in  service  of,  32 

Norfolk,   Lady,   minstrels   of,   233 

North,  Lord,  stands  God-father  to 
child  of  a  servant,  39;  purchases 
of  livery  cloth  by,  59 ;  entertain- 
ment of  Elizabeth  by,  78  et  seq.; 
Lenten  food  bought  by,  180 

Northalerton,  fair  at,  108 

Northumberland,  deer  parks  in,  of 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  105 

Northumberland,  4th  Earl  of,  Skel- 
ton  on  the  servants  of  the,  25,  37; 
5th  Earl  of,  Gentlemen  in  service 
of,  7-31;  size  of  household  of,  in 
1512,  10;  his  household,  11-12; 
Thomas  Percy,  Clerk  of  Kitchen 
to,  27;  the  "secret  house"  of, 
27,  145;  special  food  for  Officers 
of,  28  et  seq.;  system  of,  for  re- 
warding servants,  39 ;  system  of, 
for  hiring  servants,  45-47;  Offi- 
cers by  patent  of,  49;  method  of, 
for  paying  servants,  49,  51-52; 
yearly  cost  of  servants  of,  54; 
servants  paying  wages  for,  54; 
kindly  practice  of,  in  hiring  ser- 
vants, 54;  on  servants'  fees,  57- 
58;  school  for  servants,  maintain- 
ed by,  43-44;  yearly  cost  of  es- 
tablishment of,  52 ;  Bishop  Percy 
on  birds  used  as  food  by,  67; 
yearly  purchase  of  food  by,  80  et 
seq.;  waters  distilled  for,  82; 
role  of,  in  connection  with  sup- 
plies, 86  et  seq.;  fuel  regulations 
of,  89  et  seq.;  cost  of  supplies  of, 
100;  officers  securing  supplies  for, 
102;  regulations  of,  for  securing 
supplies,  102;  sources  of  supplies 
of,  104  et  seq. ;  patronage  of  fairs 
by,  108;  regulations  of,  for  pro- 
visions, 111,  112,  117,  119,  120, 
121,  127-128,  129;  acates  bought 
by,  118,  246;  system  of,  for  pay- 
ment for  supplies,  141  et  seq.; 
Lenten  food  purchased  by,  179- 


543] 


INDEX 


269 


180;  kitchen  service  of,  122-123; 
Surveyor  of,  a  priest,  139;  Sur- 
veillance of  his  Eeceiver  by,  139- 
140 ;  Great  Chamber  service  of, 
149  et  seq. ;  food  service  for,  152 ; 
choice  of  table  service  by,  154; 
hospitality  of,  166;  religious  ser- 
vitors of,  177-178;  choir  service 
of,  178  et  seq.',  Lenten  breakfast 
of,  180;  vestry  "stuff"  of,  180- 
181;  ruling  of,  for  household  ser- 
vice, 184;  charity  of,  at  festivals, 
195-196,  198,  and  note,  199  et 
seq. ;  Gild  membership  of,  200 ; 
bed-rooms  of,  at  Leckinfield,  202, 
care  of  clothing  of,  204;  duties 
of  ward-robe  men  for,  213;  Ar- 
morers of,  and  their  duties,  215- 
216;  stable  department  of,  216  et 
seq.;  residences  of,  222-223; 
change  of  residence  by,  223-224; 
Biding  Household  of,  227  et  seq.; 
bear  ward  of,  230;  dramatic 
amusement  of,  231 ;  rewards  of, 
to  his  musicians,  232,  rewards  of, 
to  players,  234;  salaries  of  mu- 
sicians of,  234;  libraries  of,  235; 
bread  orders  of,  245;  6th  Earl  of, 
trained  under  Wolsey,  33;  9th 
Earl  of,  advice  to  his  son,  21, 
24,  28,  35-36,  40-41,  47,  62-63, 
135,  174;  trouble  of,  with  rela- 
tives in  office,  28;  betrayal  of,  by 
his  servants,  35-36;  on  rewarding 
servants,  40-41;  on  hiring  ser- 
vants, 47;  comment  on  servants 
by,  62-63 

Norton,  Sir  John,  Chamberlain  to 
5th  Earl  of  Northumberland,  54 

Norwich,  Lord  Bishop  of,  Gentlemen 
in  household  of,  32-33 

Nuncius,  Nicander,  comment  on  the 
English,  64 

Nursery,  fuel  regulation  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland's,  89,  90 

Nutmegs,  71,  84 

Oak  leaf,  water  of,  82 


Oath,  administered  to  new  servants, 
47 

Oats,  staple  food,  71,  95;  yearly 
supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rutland,  84 

Obedience,  servants  owe  to  their 
lords,  30 

Offences,  punishment  of  servants', 
185  et  seq. 

Offerings,  ' '  set ' '  in  candles,  198 

' '  Officer  of  Arms, ' '  the,  in  house- 
hold of  5th  Earl  of  Northumber- 
land, 13;  in  the  Eiding  House- 
hold, 228 

Officers,  chief,  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  12;  ser- 
vitors of,  in  household  of  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  12 ;  Yeo- 
men, 14;  the  Yeomen,  to  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  15-16;  the  chief 
household,  20-21 ;  character  of  the 
household,  25-31;  noblemen's  sons 
as,  25;  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby, 
25-27 ;  Brathwait  on,  25,  107,  138, 
141 ;  unique  position  of  the  house- 
hold, 28-29;  general  important 
functions  of,  29-30;  an  example  to 
others  in  the  household,  30;  close 
relation  of,  to  noblemen,  35  et 
seq.;  betrayal  of  their  masters, 
by,  35  et  seq.;  servants'  oath  ad- 
ministered before,  47;  duties  of, 
58-59,  102,  126,  and  note,  185  et 
seq.,  196,  225;  at  funeral  of  mas- 
ter, 63;  white  staves  of  office  of, 
63;  control  over  servants  of,  123; 
rules  for,  127  et  seq.;  breving  of 
the,  133 ;  finance,  in  household, 
135;  Yeoman  and  Groom,  in  Great 
Chamber  service,  150;  food  ser- 
vice of,  164;  fuel  supplies  to  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland's,  89; 
special  fare  for,  90;  of  the  cloth- 
sack,  228 

Officer's  board,  the,  153;  strangers 
at,  172 

Oil,  for  frying  fish,  80,  84 

Olives,  73,  84 


270 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


Oranges,  73 

"Order  of  Household,"  the,  for 
supplies,  126 

Organs,  of  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 179 

Oysters,  69,  79  ;< 

Oxen,  number,  used  weekly  as  food, 
by  household  of  Henry,  Earl  of 
Derby,  77-78 

Oxford,  Earl  of,  household  of,  reg- 
ulated by  Wolsey,  32 

Page,  Mr.  Bushey,  to  Henry,  Earl 
of  Derby,  15 

Pages,  in  household,  21 

Painter,  servitor,  14 

Palfreys,  Groom  of,  14 

Palm  Sunday,  fair  at  Worcester  on, 
108 

Pantler,  brevements  of,  131,  134 

Pantry,  Yeoman  of,  14,  15;  fees  to 
Yeoman  of,  56;  service  of  Yeo- 
man of,  150,  154,  158;  Yeoman 
of,  in  Riding  Household,  228 ; 
Yeoman  and  Groom  of,  21;  tem- 
tations  to  Yeoman  and  Groom  of, 
58;  Groom  of,  14;  sale  of  fees  of 
servants  of,  57-58;  linen  for,  83; 
supplies  in,  114-115;  duties  of  of- 
ficers of,  115,  157,  161,  164-165; 
plate  in,  of  Duke  of  Suffolk,  116; 
supply  rules  for  servitors  of,  127; 
servants  of,  at  table,  153;  re- 
moval of  contents  of,  at  change 
of  residence,  225 

Pardoners,  alms  to,  201 

Paris  candles,   82 

Parks,  for  deer,  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  105 ;  Harrison 
on,  105,  note 

Parsley,  water  of,  82 

Partridge,  as  food,  66,  79 

Pasties,  used  at  Lord  North 's  enter- 
tainment of  Elizabeth,  78 

Paston,  Sir  William,  140,  141 

Patent,  servant  offices  held  by,  49 

Pathway  to  Martiall  disciplyne,  the, 
237 


Pears,  72,  73 

Pease,  yearly  supply  of,  for  Earl  of 
Rutland,  84,  104 

Pepper,  71,  84;  yearly  supply  of, 
for  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
80 

Perch,  69,  79,  92,  93 

Percy,  Allan,  12;  Henry,  12;  Henry, 
6th  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
trained  under  Wolsey,  33 ;  Ingel- 
ram,  12;  Lady  Catherine,  12;  Jo- 
seline,  12;  Margaret,  12;  Thom- 
as, 12;  Sir  William,  12;  Thomas, 
Clerk  of  Kitchen  to  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  27,  102;  Robert, 
Comptroller  to  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, 27,  142;  Bishop,  com- 
ment of,  on  birds  eaten  in  North- 
umberland household,  67 

Perfect  plote  of  a  hope  garden,  a, 
237 

Pericles,  Plutarch's,  77 

Petersboro,  Abbot  of,  122 

Pewits,  as  food,  79 

Pewter,  dishes  of,  for  festivals,  91 ; 
supply  of  dishes  of,  for  Lord  John 
Howard,  98;  Harrison,  on  dishes 
of,  98-99 

Pheasant,  as  food,  79 

Pickerel,  94 

Pickles,  samphire,  73 

Pig,  staple  meat,  70 

Pigeons,  as  food,  66,  78 

Pigs,  number  used  at  Lord  North's 
entertainment  of  Elizabeth,  78 

Pike,  68,  note,  79,  84,  92,  93,  94 

Pitch,  household  supply,  85 

Pit-coal,  85 

"Pistoler,"  the,  13 

Plate,  116;  chapel,  181 

Players,  rewards  to,  231,  234 

Plays,  230-231 

Plover,  as  food,  79 

Plutarch,  77;  works  of,  236 

Poor,  charity  to,  188  et  seq.;  enter- 
tained at  festivals,  195  et  seq. ; 
at  funerals  of  noblemen,  197-198 


545] 


INDEX 


271 


Porpoise,  as  food,  69-70,  122 

Portenary,  Alysandir,  a  ' '  Lom- 
bard," 60-61 

Porter,  the  Groom,  14;  white  stave 
of  the,  63 ;  duties  of  the,  183,  193, 
194 

Porters,  the  Yeomen,  21 

Potatoes,  72,  75 

Powdered  cod,  94 

Praedium   Eusticum,   the,   236 

Preacher,  in  the  household,  21 

Preaching  in  household  of  Earls  of 
Derby,  182 

Precepts,  of  Lord  Burghley,  24,  and 
note 

Prickets,  82,  and  note 

Priest,  a  Lady  Mass,  13 

Priests,  in  household  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  177-178;  in 
household  of  John  Howard,  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  17 

Primroses,  water  of,  82 

Proctor,  Gefferay,  Treasurer  to  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  54 

Provisions,  yearly  supply  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80  et 
seq.;  yearly  supply  for  Earl  of 
Rutland,  83  et  seq.;  accounts  for, 
86  et  seq. ;  role  of  noblemen  in  se- 
curing, 86  et  seq.;  an  official  as- 
signment for,  87;  regulations  for 
use  of,  87  et  seq.;  importance  of 
officers  handling,  101;  the  "re- 
mainder" of,  102;  for  horses,  216 
et  seq. 

Prunes,  72,  80,  84 

Puffins,  as  food,  67;  Lawrence  An- 
drewe  on,  68-69 

Purcer,  Thomas,  109 

Puritan,  advice  against  hiring  a,  as 
a  servant,  47 

Purslane,  73 

Pursuivant,  13 

Purveyance,  system  of,  for  food, 
79  et  seq. 

Purveyor,   the   Yeoman,    21 

Purveyors,  horses  for,  106 


Quail,  as  food,  66,  78 

Quarions,   82,  and  note 

Quarter-day,  pay  system,  for  ser- 
vants, 50  et  seq. 

Queen,  players  of  the,  230 

Quiet,  enjoined  at  meals,  163 

Rabbit,  staple  food,  71,  83;  Source 
of  supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rutland, 
103 

Radishes,  72 

Raglan  Castle,  Great  Chamber  in, 
148;  Great  Hall  in,  149 

Rails,  as  food,  67 

Raisins,  72,  80,  81,  84 

Rank,  emphasis  on,  in  household, 
153-154,  173,  227 

Rapsley,  parson  of,   122 

"Rat-man,"  the,  18 

Rebec,  14,  232 

Receipts,  67-68,  note,  70 

Receiver,  the,  15,  21,  135,  and  note; 
ffarington,  to  Ferdinando,  Earl  of 
Derby,  26;  rewards  to  servants 
paid  by,  39;  an  Officer  by  patent, 
49;  functions  of  the,  54,  59,  101, 
102,  136,  139  et  seq.,  144;  table 
for  the,  153 

Rectors,  choir,  178-179 

Red  mint,  water  of,  82 

Redshanks,  as  food,  79 

Red  wine,  80,  96 

Regulations,  household,  of  the  Earls 
of  Derby,  91-92 

Relatives,  of  noblemen,  as  household 
servants,  25-28,  154 

"Remainder,"  the,  102,  131-132 

Rentals,  estate,  136  et  seq.;  con- 
trol by  Receiver  of,  139-140 

Residence,  change  of,  by  noblemen, 
223  et  seq. 

Residences,  owned  by  noblemen,  222- 
223 

Resurrection,  play  of,  231 

Revels,  Master  of  the,  231 

"Reversion,"  the  food,  62 

"Reward,"  the,  165,  and  note 

Rewards,    paid    to    servants,    37    et 


272 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OP   A  TUDOR   NOBLEMAN 


[546 


seq.,  130;  pious,  of  the  Earls  of 
Rutland,  201;  paid  by  noblemen, 
for  amusement,  230,  231,  234 

Rhenish  wine,  72,  84,  111 

Rice,  81,  84 

Rider,  the  Yeoman,  fees  of,  56 

Riding  Chaplain,  servitor,  177 

Riding  Household,  the,  226  et  seq. 

Rigbie,  Alexander,  27 

Robes,  Yeoman  of  the,  14;  Yeoman 
of,  in  Riding  Household,  228 

Robinson,  Paul,  92 

Roe,  staple  food,  71 

Roses,  water  of,  82 

Rosin,  household  supply,  82 

' '  Roughcaster, ' '    the,    servitor,    16 

Rough  vessel,  83 

Royal  palaces,  Great  Halls  of  the, 
149 

Rundlet,   wine   measure,   78,   84 

Rutland,  Earl  of,  size  of  his  house- 
hold in  16th  century,  10;  servants 
of,  in  1539,  240;  quarterly  ser- 
vant hire  of,  53;  yearly  supplies 
of,  83  et  seq.;  fish  ponds  of,  92- 
93;  source  of  .supplies  of,  103  et 
seq.,  Ill;  patronage  of  fairs  by, 
108;  kitchen  service  of,  123;  hos- 
pitality of,  167;  payments  for 
music  by,  175;  chapel  "stuff"  of, 
181;  Elizabeth,  Countess  of,  re- 
wards at  christenings  by,  39; 
House  of,  method  of,  for  servant 
wages,  49-50;  food  gifts  received 
by,  121-122;  Haddon  House,  seat 
of,  148-149 ;  charities  of,  191,  201 ; 
miscellaneous  amusements  of,  230 

Roger,  Earl  of,  his  funeral,  122,  197- 
198;  Thomas,  Earl  of,  alms  at 
funeral  of,  197 

Ryall,  vicar  of,  122 

Rye,  71,  84 

Sack,  72,  78 

Saddles,  fees  to  servants,  56 

Saffron,  a  "spice,"  72,  and  note,  81 

Sage,  water  of,  82 

St.  Andrews,  182 


St.  Augustine,  Meditations  of,  236 

St.  John's  day,  swans  for  food  on, 
105 

Saints,  images  of,  181 

St.  Stephen's  day,  105 

St.  Thomas's  day,  105 

Salad,  cress,  72;   purslane  as,  73 

Salisbury,   fair,   108 

Salmon,  69,  80,  83,  180 

Salt,  72,  81,  84,  90-91 

Saltby,   103 

Salt-cellar,  the,  place  and  import- 
ance of,  at  table,  158-159,  173 

Samphire,    73-74,    84 

Sanders,  72,  81 

Sandes,  London  grocer,  96-97 

Sercenet,  cloth,  209  et  seq. 

Satin,  209  et  seq. 

Sauces,  68,  and  note,  78 

Sausages,  74 

Scabious,  water  of,  82 

"Scambling"  days,  87,  and  note 

School,   in  Leckinfield  Castle,  43-41 

Scullery,  children  on  duty  in,  14; 
duties  of  servants  of  the,  116; 
supplies  in,  116;  plate  of  Duke 
of  Suffolk  in,  116;  Yeoman  and 
Groom  of,  21 ;  mustard  made  in, 
81;  brevements  of  Clerks  of,  134; 

Groorn  of,  at  table,  153 ;  removal  of 
equipment  of,  at  change  of  resi- 
dence, 225 

Sea-coal,  81 

Sea-food,  79 

Seal,  as  food,  69,  122 

Secretary,  household  Officer,  13,  15, 
17,  21,  177;  ffarington,  to  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Derby,  26;  in  the 
Riding  household,  228 

"Secret  House,"  the,  27,  145,  154 

Seneclow,  Giles,  56 

Servants,  punishment  of,  30;  be- 
trayal of  masters  by,  35  et  seq.; 
creditors  to  noblemen,  36-37;  spec- 
ial rewards  for,  37  et  seq.;  cloth- 
ing to,  39,  59  et  seq.;  solicitude 
by  noblemen  for,  41-42;  educa- 


547] 


INDEX 


273 


tion  of,  by  noblemen,  42  et  seq.; 
hiring  of,  45  et  scq.,  48-49,  54;  ' 
oath  of  office  for,  47;  offices  of, 
by  patent,  49;  wages  of,  49  et 
seq.;  fees  for,  56  et  seq.;  dishon- 
esty among,  58-59,  99-100;  shoes 
bought  for,  61  et  seq.;  food  furn- 
ished to,  62;  comment  of  9th  Earl 
of  Northumberland  on,  62-63;  Ed- 
ward, Earl  of  Derby's  kindness  to 
his,  63 ;  at  funerals  of  noblemen, 
63;  force  of,  for  Great  Chamber, 
149  et  scq.;  food  service  for,  153; 
under  the  Gentleman  Usher,  155- 
156;  at  household  services,  180 
et  seq.;  handling  of  offences  by, 
185  et  seq.;  regulation  for,  at  re- 
movals, 224  et  seq.;  removal  of 
stuff  of,  at  removals,  226;  of  the 
Biding  Household,  227  et  seq.;  of 
Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  in  1522,  239; 
of  Earl  of  Eutland,  in  1539,  240; 
of  Earl  of  Worcester,  241;  those 
essential  to  a  household,  242 

Sewer,  servitor,  13;  a  nobleman's 
brother  as,  27;  towel  for  the,  83; 
in  Great  Chamber  service,  150 ; 
duties  of,  153,  154,  157,  158,  159- 
160,  161  et  seq.,  173;  Gentleman 
of  Horse  as,  220;  in  the  Riding 
Household,  228 

Shakespeare,  73-74 

Shalms,  the  Lord  of  Glocestcr  's,  233 ; 
the  king's,  234 

Shandon,  Lord,   players  of,   230 

Sheep,  77,  78,  95 

Sherburne,    Sir   Richard,   26 

Shide,  measure,  89 

Shoes,  bought  for  servants,  61  et 
seq. 

Shovelers,  as  food,  67,  79 

Shrewsbury,  Francis  Talbot,  Earl 
of,  his  funeral,  63,  197 

Shrines,  gifts  at,  by  noblemen,  199 
et  seq. 

Shrove  Tuesday,  festival,  179;  play 
on,  231 


Signet,  Clerk  of,  14,  and  note;  Clerk 
of,  in  Riding  Household,  228 

Silver,  vessels  of,  in  households,  115- 
116 

Singers,  in  household  of  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  18;  for  church  service  in 
households,  178  et  seq. 

Sizes,   82,   and  note 

Skellon,  the  poet,  on  servitors  of  4th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  25,  37, 
69-70 

"Skerett,"  the,   72 

Skins,  of  animals,  fees  to  servants, 
56 

Slaughter-house,  lights  made  from 
products  of,  104,  106;  surveillance 
of,  130 

Slaughterman,  fees  of,  57;  supply 
rules  for,  127;  brevements  of,  131 

Slaughtermen,  servitors,  16 

Sleaford,  the  players  of,  230 

Sleeping-rooms,   in   castles,   202 

Snipe,   as  food,   79 

Soap,  72,  85 

Sorrel,  water  of,  82 

Spanish  iron,  111 

Spanish  wine,  72 

"Spice,"  use  of  term,  71-72,  80; 
yearly  supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rut- 
land, 84;  Lord  John  Howard's 
purchase  of,  96-97 

Spicery,  Clerks  of,  132 ;  functions 
of  Clerks  of,  133;  brevements  of 
Clerks  of,  134 

Spinach,   72 

Sprats,   80,    180 

Stable,  children  on  duty  in,  14 ;  ser- 
vice in,  to  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby, 
16;  Grooms  of,  21;  service  of 
Grooms  of,  154;  fees  paid  to  Yeo- 
men and  Grooms  of,  56;  tempta- 
tions before  servants  of,  58; 
brevements  of  Clerks  of,  134;  de- 
partment of  the,  216  et  seq. 

Stafford,  Henry,  Earl  of,  ward-robe 
of,  209  et  seq. 

Stags,    number    consumed    at    Lord 


274 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A   TUDOR  NOBLEMAN 


[548 


North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78 

Stamford,  residence  of  Lord  Wil- 
loughby,  223 

Stanley,  Sir  Edward,  15;  servants 
in  the  family  of,  25-27;  sec  also 
Derby,  Earls  of,  etc. 

Starch,   72,  85 

Staves,  white,  Officers'  symbols,  63 

Steel,  85 

Steers,  number  consumed  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78 

Steward,  Officer,  12,  15,  17,  21; 
ffarington,  William,  to  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby,  26;  Sir  Richard 
Sherburne,  to  Henry,  Earl  of 
Derby,  25;  special  food  for  the, 
28-29,  90;  to  correct  disobedient 
servants,  30;  James,  7th  Earl  of 
Derby  on  the,  30-31;  deference  to, 
from  noblemen  in  office,  34-35; 
letter  from  Lord  John  How- 
ard to  his,  36-37;  rewards  to 
servants  paid  by  the,  39;  an  Offi- 
cer by  patent,  49;  helps  hire  ser- 
vants, 49 ;  pays  servant  wages,  55 ; 
other  duties  of,  101,  103,  and  note, 
104,  109,  110,  123,  126,  134,  135, 
and  note,  188-189;  process  of  get- 
ting money  for,  141  et  seq.;  the 
table  of  the,  153;  the  "Learned," 
144 

Stints,  as  food,  67,  79 

Stirrup,  Groom  of  the,  14;  Groom 
of,  in  Riding  Household,  221 

Stirrups,  Yeomen  of,  16 

Stock  fish,  80,  94,  180 

Stoke,  in  Suffolk,  residence  of  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  17,  54,  55;  supplies 
for,  92  et  seq. 

Stoke,  fair,  108 

Stone,  water  for  the,  82 

Stone   cruses,    83 

Stork,   receipt  for  preparing,  67 

Stourbridge,  fair,  107,  108,  109,  180 

Stow,  John,  on  Edward,  Earl  of 
Derby,  31,  63,  195,  197 


Strange,  Charles,  Lord,  admonitions 

to,  on  household  management,  24, 

and   note,    28,    30-31,    32,   42,    47- 

48,  59 

Strangers,     entertainment    of,     150, 

151,   165  et  seq. 
Stubbe,  John,   146-147,   214-215 
Stubbes,  on  English  gluttony,  75-76 
Sturgeon,   69,    79,   80,   83 
Sub-dean,  13;   duties  of,  178 
Suffolk,  Duchess  of,  stables  of,  217- 
218,   219;    Duke  of,  plate  owned 
by,  in  1535,  115-116;  Chapel  stuff 
of  Duke  of,  181;    the  players  of 
Lady,  230 
Suffolk  Place,  181 
Sugar,  71 ;  yearly  supply  of,  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 ;  year- 
ly supply  of,  for  Earl  of  Rutland, 
84 

' '  Summons  for  slepers, ' '  a,  237 
Sumpterman,  the  Groom,  14 
Supper,  making  of  menus  for,  126; 
servants  on  duty  at,  150 ;  time  for, 
152 

Supplies,  role  of  noblemen  in  con- 
nection with,  86  et  seq. ;  need  for 
care  by  noblemen  for,  100;  cost 
to  noblemen,  yearly,  100;  Lord 
Burghley  on  purchase  of,  101 ; 
duties  of  Steward  with  reference 
to,  101,  103,  104,  109,  110,  126, 
134;  aids  to  Officers  securing,  102; 
Officers  securing  for  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  102 ;  sources  of, 
103,  104  et  seq.;  economy  in  pur- 
chase of,  106;  bought  at  fairs  and 
markets,  107  et  seq.;  from  farm- 
ers, 110;  when  bought,  111  et  seq.; 
duties  of  Officers  handling,  112 
et  seq.;  storage  of,  113  et  seq.; 
in  the  Buttery,  114;  in  the  Lard- 
er, 114;  in  Pantry,  114-115; 
acates,  117  et  seq.;  regulation  of 
Henry,  Earl  of  Derby  concerning, 
121;  control  of  use  of,  125  et 
seq.;  bill  of  "remainder"  of,  131- 
132;  "remainder"  of,  134;  breve- 


549] 


INDEX 


275 


ments  of,  134;  import  of  care  of, 
to  noblemen,  134;  payment  system 
for,  141  et  seq. 

Surplice,  180 

Surrey,  Earl  of,  payments  for  ser- 
vants' shoes  by,  61  et  seq. 

Surveyor,  Officer,  13,  and  note,  177; 
Officer,  by  patent,  49 ;  functions 
of,  135,  136  et  seq.,  144 

Sussex,   fair,   109 

Swans,  as  food,  78,  103-104,  and 
note;  a  "Carr"  of,  104-105 

Tables,  set  for  food  service,  153 ; 
manner  of  setting,  156  et  seq. ; 
for  guests,  172-173 

Taboret,  232 

Tabour,  14 

Tacitus,  works  of,  236 

Talbot,  Sir  Thomas,  26 

Taprobane,  fruits  from,   73 

Tar,  household  supply,  85 

Teals,  as  food,  67 

Temptations,  before  household  ser- 
vants, 58-59 

' '  Tenable ' '  Wednesday,  179 

Tenant  farms,  as  sources  of  supplies, 
103 

Tenants,   fish    supply   from,    105-106 

Tench,  79,  84,  92-93 

Terns,  as  food,  67,  79 

Theobalds,  residence  of  Lord  Burgh- 
ley,  189,  223;  garden  at,  221 

Thieving,  servant's  penchant  for,  99- 
100 

Thompson,  James,  63 

Thoreau,  Henry  D.,  76 

Thornburg,  seat  of  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, 167 

Tithe  lambs,  103 

Tithes,  supplies  by,   103,  104 

Tomworth,  Our  Lady's  bridge  at, 
repair  of,  201 

Topcliff,  residence  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  222 

Torches,  82,  85 

Towels,  83 

Towneley,   Sir  Gilbert,   15 

Tradition,  role  of,  in  household,  22 


Treasurer,  Officer,  12,  17,  21;  Sir 
Eichard  Sherburne,  to  Edward,, 
Earl  of  Derby,  26;  servants'  wag- 
es paid  by,  54;  duties  of,  126, 
189 

Treasury,  duties  of  Clerk  of,  in  pay- 
ing servants,  52 

"Trebles,"  singers,  13 

Trenchers,  of  bread,   151,   160 

Trent,    river,    swans   on,   104 

Trinity  Sunday,  festival,  179 

Tripe,  74 

Trout,  69 

Trumpeter,  in  the  household,  21; 
duties  of,  175,  229;  in  the  Kid- 
ing  Household,  228 

Turkeys,   78 

Turnsole,  "spice,"  72,  and  note, 
81 

Twelfth  day,  fair  on,  108 

Twelfth  Night,  swans  for  food  on, 
105;  festival,  179 

Udders,  neat's,  as  food,  78 

Uffington,  110 

Usher,  of  Great  Chamber,  duties  of, 
128-129,  131,  and  note;  of  the 
Hall,  fees  of,  56;  duties  of,  116- 
117  128,  129,  131,  and  note,  155, 
159,  160,  192-193 ;  at  table,  153 

Ushers,  the  Gentlemen,  servitors,  13, 
21 ;  servants  sworn  in  by,  47 ;  du- 
ties of,  149,  151,  153,  154,  155  et 
seq.,  172  et  seq.,  173,  202-203, 
209;  in  the  Riding  Household,  228 

Ushers,  the  Yeomen,  of  the  Cham- 
ber, 13;  servants  sworn  in  by,  47; 
fees  of,  56;  duties  of,  150,  154, 
155,  164,  227;  at  table,  153 

Ushers,  Yeomen,  of  the  Hall,  duties 
of,  151,  164  et  seq.,  227 

Van  Meteren,  comment  on  English, 
64 

Veal,  71 

Vegetables,  72-73;  in  gardens  of  no- 
blemen, 220  et  seq. 

Velvet,  209  et  seq. 

Venetian,  comment  of  a,  on  English, 
65,  and  note 


276 


THE   HOUSEHOLD   OF   A  TUDOR  NOBLEMAN 


[550 


Venison,  supply  of,  for  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland,  105 

Venus,  Mount  of,  in  garden  at  Theo- 
balds, 221 

Verjuice,  73,  81,  84,  104 

Vestments,  180,  181 

Vestry,  Yeoman  of,  14;  equipment 
of  5th  Earl  of  Northumberland's, 
180;  removal  of  contents  of,  at 
change  of  residence,  225 

Vinegar,  73,  79,  81,  84,  91,  106 

Viol,  232 

Wages,  servants',  49,  52  et  seq.; 
fees,  part  of  servants',  56  et  seq. 

Waggoner,  fees  of,  56 

Wagons,  fees  to  servants,  56 

"Waineries, "  Yeoman  of  the,  16 

Waiters,  Gentlemen,  servitors,  13,  15, 
21;  the  Gentlemen,  at  table,  153; 
service  of  the  Gentlemen,  154;  the 
Yeomen,  14,  21;  the  Yeomen,  to 
Henry,  Earl  of  Derby,  16;  the 
Yeomen  at  table,  153;  in  Eiding 
Household,  228 

Wallaton,  see  Willoughbys 

Walsingham,  Our  Lady  of,  199,  and 
note,  200 

Waltham,  Parson  of,  122;  Abbot  of, 
122 

Wande,  William,  104 

War,  a  Brief  Discourse  of,  Wil- 
liams's  book,  236 

Warden,  Abbot  of,  122 

Wardens,  73 

Ward-robe,  Grooms  of  the,  14; 
Grooms  of,  in  Eiding  Household, 
228 ;  functions  of  Grooms  of,  145 ; 
children  on  duty  in  the,  14;  con- 
tents of  a,  205-206;  removal  of 
contents  of,  at  change  of  resi- 
dence, 225;  Henry,  Earl  of  Staf- 
ford 's,  209  et  seq. 

Ward-robe  of  Beds,  Yeoman  of,  15; 
mention,  21 ;  duties  of  servitors 
of,  202  et  seq. 

Warrants,  money  by,  for  supplies, 
141  et  seq. 


Warrens,  Harrison  on,  105,  note;  of 
Earl  of  Eutland,  103 

Washing,  before  meals,  159;  after 
meals,  162 

Waters,  kinds,  distilled  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  82 

Wax,  82,  199-201 

Weapons,  in  household  armories, 
213-214 

Wearing  Book,  Clerk  of  the,  15,  and 
note 

Well-rope,  household  supply,  85 

Wheat,  71 ;  amount  used  weekly,  by 
household  of  Henry,  Earl  of  Der- 
by, 77-78;  yearly  supply  for  5th 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  80 ;  year- 
ly supply  for  Earl  of  Eutland,  84, 
104 

Wheels,  broken,  fees  to  servants,  56 

White  staves,  the  Officers',  176 

White  wine,  72,  80 

Whitsunday,  festival,  179 

Wick,  for  candles,  household  supply, 
82 

Widgeons,  as  food,  67 

Widmerpoole,  Thomas,  27,  and  note 

Wigan,  players  of,  230 

Wild  tansey,  water  of,  82 

Willoughbys,  of  Wallaton,  patronage 
of  fairs  by,  108-109;  purchases  at 
fairs  of,  109-110;  acates  bought 
by,  118,  246;  hospitality  of,  166- 
167;  charity  of,  190,  196-197,  201; 
patronage  of  music  by,  232 

Wines,  the  staple,  72;  Harrison  on, 
72;  consumption  of,  at  Lord 
North's  entertainment  of  Eliza- 
beth, 78;  Gascon,  80;  yearly  sup- 
ply of,  for  5th  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, 80;  yearly  supply  of, 
for  Earl  of  Eutland,  84;  secured 
at  Boston,  111;  at  libery  service, 
152 

Withdrawing  room,  ' '  box ' '  for  gam- 
ing in,  56 

"Wolpett,"   fair,   108,   109 

Wolsey,   regulation   of   household   of 


551] 


INDEX 


277 


Earl  of  Oxford  by,  32;  noble- 
men's sons  trained  by,  33 

Wolsthorpe,  103 

Wood,  for  fuel,  81 ;  for  charcoal,  85 

Woodbine,  water  of,  82 

Wood-yard,  supplies  stored  in,  116- 
117 

Worcester,  Earl  of,  size  of  household 
of,  in  16th  century,  10;  Steward 
of  Earl  of,  27,  and  note;  Gentle- 
men in  service  of  Earl  of,  31; 
Waiters  of  Earl  of,  154;  summary 
of  servants  of  Earl  of,  241;  Bag- 
Ian,  seat  of  Earls  of,  148 ;  fair  at, 
108 

Works,  Clerk  of  the,  15,  and  note 

Worme,  William,  143 

Wormwood,  water  of,  82 

Wressil,  seat  of  5th  Earl  of  North- 
umberland, hay  made  at,  104;  lo- 
cation of,  222-223;  residence  at, 
224 

Wyatt,  Sir  Henry,  141 

Wythyham,  fair,  109 


Yeoman,  fees  to  Cellar,  56;  duties  of 
Cellar,  113-114;  the  Ewery,  115; 
fees  to  Ewery,  56-57;  temptations 
before  Ewery,  58;  fees  to  the 
Pantry,  56;  temptations  before 
the  Pantry,  58;  duties  of  the 
Pantry,  115;  duties  of  the  But- 
tery, 114;  duties  of  the  Larder, 
114;  duties  of  the  Scullery,  116; 
duties  of  the  Wood-yard,  116-117, 
126,  and  note;  duties  of  Beds, 
145,  150,  202  et  seq.;  the  Vestry, 
180;  the  Horse,  218 

Yeoman  Purveyor,  110 

Yeomen,  stations  in  household,  21; 
at  funeral  of  master,  63 ;  supply 
regulations  for,  127  et  seq.;  du- 
ties of,  150  et  seq.,  154;  dinner 
service  of,  164-165;  in  the  Eiding 
Household,  228 

Yeoman's  board,  the,  153;  service  at 
the,  154 

York,  St.  Christopher's  Gild  of,  200 

Yorkshire,  deer  parks  of  5th  Earl  of 
Northumberland  in,  105 


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